Candice Warner has rejected a reporter’s jab at her cricket star husband’s offer to play in the new UAE T20 league in January instead of the Big Bash.
David Warner has applied for permission to skip the BBL for another season to cash in on a contract reportedly worth $2.1 million over three years in the United Arab Emirates.
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This is despite Cricket Australia publicly wanting its biggest domestic cricket stars to commit to the BBL, which has been starved of international-quality talent for the past two summers due to the pandemic.
Cricket journalist Daniel Brettig said Warner should retire from international duty if he wants to play for the UAE.
“Quite simple for Warner. If he really wants to play in the new UAE league in the peak Aust summer in January, he will have to retire from international cricket. CA would make an extraordinary and unprecedented concession to give- him a NOC unless he does first,” he wrote on Twitter.
A NoC is a no-objection certificate currently required for centrally contracted Australian players to participate in domestic T20 leagues around the world, even if they are not playing in Australia at the time.
Last year, Warner, Pat Cummins and Glenn Maxwell were given NoCs to feature in the Indian Premier League, after being rested for the final matches of the Pakistan Tour.
Candice responded, tweeting: “Do you really believe this? You’re laughing.”
Brettig replied: “It is not a case of what I believe. It is more about how the NOC system works so that international cricket is not consumed by privately owned T20 leagues and clubs.”
Aussie legend Adam Gilchrist was also against Warner allowing him to play overseas instead of playing in the BBL, telling SEN it would be “commercial suicide”.
“They can’t force David Warner to play in the BBL, I understand that,” Gilchrist said. “But to let him go, or another player, we’re not just singling out Warner, because there will be other players on the radar, it’s all part of, I guess, the global dominance that these IPL franchises are starting to create.”
He also suggested that Warner does not sign a contract with CA but “plays for a match fee” when representing Australia.
The 35-year-old Warner is one of Australia’s best T20 players. He was named player of the tournament in last year’s T20 World Cup campaign, while he has finished as the top run-scorer in the IPL on three occasions.
Despite his success around the world, Warner has played just three BBL matches, one in each of the first three seasons of the competition, including scoring the competition’s first century.
He also captained the Sydney Thunder in their first match before switching to the Sydney Sixers for their next two matches.
Warner is still under a leadership ban due to his role in the Cape Town ball-tampering scandal.
Speaking on the subject of the leadership ban earlier this month on Triple M’s Deadset Legends with Dan, Richard and CandiceCandice said David did not play in the BBL because he represents Australia in three formats and has no off-season to spend with his family.
“David has an incredible T20 record in India, in Australia, he’s one of our best,” Candice said.
“Regardless of whether the ban is lifted or not, if he plays in the Big Bash, it’s a decision we discuss about what’s best for the family in that period.
“There’s also another league in the UAE, which financially (has) much bigger money. It’s not just a question of lifting Dave’s ban, it’s a question of what’s best for our family. And Dave he just accepted that he has this ban now.”
Mitchell Starc will also skip the BBL once again, saying he wants to be as fit as possible for Australia.
The news will be another headache for Cricket Australia after broadcaster Channel 7 launched Federal Court action to try to terminate its television rights deal.
Seconds News CorpSeven is adamant that the cricketers who appeared in last summer’s BBL were not of a high enough quality for the competition to meet the standard provisions stipulated in CA’s TV rights deal.
However, the Big Bash has already secured the services of former South African captain Faf du Plessis and Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan, while Australian stars Usman Khawaja, Mitchell Swepson, Nathan Lyon and Alex Carey have also signed for their respective BBL franchises.