Yorkshire have bemoaned “an impossible situation” and demanded the introduction of a cut-off point for Indian Premier League deals after losing David Willey to the tournament just days before the start of the county season.
Willey is the 12th Englishman to sign for an IPL team this year and will join his international team-mates Mark Wood and Sam Billings after agreeing a £225,000 deal at Chennai Super Kings as a late injury replacement.
The 28-year-old all-rounder, who joined Yorkshire from Northamptonshire in 2016 citing a desire to further his Test ambitions, pulled out of a pre-season friendly at Leicestershire on Monday in anticipation of the deal.
It is another blow for the White Rose before the season opener on Friday at home against the defending champions Essex, having let Liam Plunkett join Delhi Daredevils over the weekend and seen Adil Rashid sign a white-ball-only deal for 2018.
Martyn Moxon, Yorkshire’s director of cricket, said: “We find ourselves in an impossible situation with these late replacement requests. At the moment we are potentially looking at a situation where, if we deny a player an opportunity, we will be left with someone who is not completely focused on playing for Yorkshire. This would be counter-productive.
“There are now 12 English players in this year’s IPL, so the issue goes further than just here at Headingley.”
The news is timely in one sense, with Moxon due to chair a meeting of representatives from 15 of the 18 first-class counties at Edgbaston on Tuesday to discuss the current cricketing landscape.
As well as a debate over the future structure of the County Championship – Yorkshire favour of a conference-style system to replace two divisions – the meeting will explore ideas that give clubs greater protection in the Twenty20 era.
Moxon said: “With the number of T20 contracts available worldwide, it is important that we future-proof the County Championship. I will be calling for the introduction of a cut-off date, after which players will not be allowed to go to the IPL. Hopefully this can gain national approval and be supported by the ECB.”
