England Cricket Board set to ban its players from participating in franchise leagues; IPL the only exception: Report | Cricket News

The England Cricket Board have reportedly banned its players from taking part in franchise leagues including the Pakan Super League (PSL). However, the Indian Premier League (IPL) will be exempted from the ban, according to The Telegraph.
The decision was apparently taken because the English board wants to improve the quality of domestic cricket in the country.
The report stated that the board will not be handing out no objection certificates (NOCs) to franchise leagues which run parallel to the domestic season which would mean that the PSL, which is scheduled to be played from April to May, will find themselves without some top English names.
The decision might also turn out to be a double-aged sword with players opting to play in the franchise leagues after cancelling their contracts with the board.
The report also stated that even the players who are not active anymore in the first class circuit won’t be given an out from county cricket. Also, the players who have only white-ball contracts will be able to play the leagues provided that they fall outside the domestic white-ball window.
The move is also aimed at stopping players from jumping from one league to the other as soon as their team is knocked out while also making sure that players will be available during the domestic leagues such as T20 Blast and the Hundred.
According to reports, players will also be banned from participating in leagues which have the shadow of corruption hanging over them.
“We need to protect the integrity of our sport and the strength of our competitions in England and Wales as well,” ECB chief executive Richard Gould said as per The Telegraph.

“This policy gives clarity to players and professional counties around our approach to issuing No Objection Certificates. It will enable us to strike the right balance between supporting players who want to take up opportunities to earn and gain experience, while also protecting the integrity of cricket globally, ensuring we don’t undermine our own ECB competitions, and managing the welfare of centrally contracted England players,” he added.