Former Australian wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist has implored Cricket Australia to now allow David Warner to skip the BBL this coming summer.
A bombshell report yesterday suggested Warner will skip the Australian domestic T20 competition to play in the inaugural season of a new T20 League out of the United Arab Emirates.
The report comes despite Cricket Australia looking to now prioritise the BBL not only this summer, but in summer's to come.
South Africa pulling out of a three-match ODI series against the Aussies for their own domestic T20 league means top stars will be available over a week earlier for the BBL than they otherwise would have been, and Cricket Australia are making it a priority for each nationally contracted player to have a club.
That will serve as a pre-cursor to what will follow in coming seasons, with the ICC's future tours programme - now signed off on between 2023 and 2027 but not officially released - reportedly having a small window in each Australian summer for the second half of the BBL without any international team commitments.
Despite that, Warner reportedly wants to play elsewhere.
Speaking to SEN Radio, Gilchrist said it would be comercial suicide for Cricket Australia to allow Warner to play elsewhere.
“This is the big kicker, isn't it, of possibly being the step towards being contracted to the club before or over country for the predominant amount of cricket you play,” Gilchrist told SEN.
“I think it would almost be commercial suicide for them (Cricket Australia) to allow a player like him (Warner) to go head-to-head up against their own competition.
“They can't force David Warner to play in the BBL. I understand that. But to let him then go off, or another player, let's not just single out Warner, because there will be other players on the radar, it's all part of this, I guess, global dominance that these IPL franchises are starting to create given they own a number of teams in the Caribbean Premier League. They own all six teams I believe in the new South African tournament that's coming up, which will be locking horns for commercial space and airtime with the Big Bash.”
Money for Cricket Australia will be a big issue moving forward, with the IPL's dominance moving out into other competition, to the point the BCCI are reportedly set to consider allowing Indian players competing in foreign leagues - something that has never previously been allowed since the creation of the IPL.
Gilchrist suggested Warner may have to become a 'T20 gun for hire' and turn his back on a national contract completely to not play in the BBL as a warning to other young players that they couldn't simply turn their back on the BBL.
“David Warner, again, using him as an example, we can't question his commitment to Australian cricket over the years, he's carved out one of the great careers,” Gilchrist said.
“If he rides off into the sunset and says, ‘Sorry Australian cricket, I'm going to become a gun for hire for my Indian franchise team in various tournaments', you can't question him on that, that's his prerogative and he's done everything he needs to get the profile and get that market value.
“It's the new younger player coming in that starts to make those noises where it'll be really challenging.
“Perhaps it's the first example where David Warner doesn't sign a contract with Cricket Australia at all, he just plays for a match fee.
“He goes and plays wherever he wants but says, ‘I'm available for every Test match, for every one-day international and every T20 international' by way of example, I'll be there for you in national colours.
“But other than that, I'm going to play my club, my franchise cricket, wherever I want to knowing that none of those big tournaments will be clashing with international cricket.”
