Australian cricketers and their board are heading towards a bitter stand-off with the former threatening not to sign their contract for next year over the latter's attempt to snatch 10 per cent of their Indian Premier League salary.
The IPL Governing Council, in its recent meeting to discuss the rules and regulations of its fourth season next year, had ruled that 10 per cent of players' salaries would go to their respective boards.
The decision was taken as there has always been a pressure from boards like Cricket Australia over their lack of earnings from their players’ involvement in the lucrative Twenty20 league.
A fuming Australian Cricketers Association said the CA has gone behind its back to secure a cut from the BCCI. ACA chief executive Paul Marsh said he has told CA that the players would not sign contracts for the next year if the board cut 10 per cent from their IPL salaries.
"The Australian Cricketers Association has made it known to Cricket Australia that any attempt to take 10 per cent, or any other amount for that matter, from the IPL salaries of Australian players is completely unacceptable and will be opposed in the strongest possible way by us," Marsh said.
"CA simply has no right to effectively charge a commission on income earned by players from outside their employment to CA. This is akin to an employer trying to take 10 per cent of an employee's wages from a second job he works on weekends," he was quoted as saying by The Australian.
Marsh asked CA to refuse the arrangement with the BCCI or face the consequences. "Regardless of the decision made by the IPL, we would hope CA would act in good faith to its players by not taking this proposed 10 per cent," he said.
"Should they seek to do, so we would expect players to give serious consideration to either not signing an IPL contract that contains this deduction, or not signing future CA contracts," he added.