It is one of the rare times in the world of international cricket where a political decision is affecting the world of cricket and it has become the talk of the town. The name of the phenomenon is the Kolpak deal and how is it being affected by England’s exit from the European Union, termed as the Brexit.
Just to get things cleared out, the Kolpak deal was an agreement between the governments/administrations of 100 nations and the European Union because of which, the players from those countries could be contracted to play for EU based teams, without being counted in as foreign players.
This opened the gates from all over the world, especially South Africa in terms of cricket players, moving from the country to play for England, which till now was a part of the European Union. And, now that the country is making an exit from the European Union, there is a lot of talk going around what would happen to the players and their future, which in many cases revolved around playing for the England cricket team or the clubs based in the country if they would do well in South Africa or any other country they hailed from the countries which were a part of the deal.
Some of the most prominent names in these country’s cricket history have played for England based clubs, thanks to the iconic Kolpak deal. These include the likes of Kyle Abbott, Morne Morkel, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Brendan Taylor, and more recently, Wayne Parnell in 2018.
What do the people think about the Kolpak deal?
As it would happen with something as significant as the Kolpak deal, every individual associated with the sport has his or her own opinion about the pros and cons of this deal. A lot of players in the current England cricket team’s setup have in the past benefitted because of this deal. For example, Ollie Pope, one of the mainstays of the England batting setup got to play Morne Morkel in the nets while the latter was with his team in the past.
Now, what will happen to such players? Will they lose out on some valuable chances of playing with the best talents from all over the world and what effect will it have on the players who got the experience of playing overseas?
For getting answers to these questions, all we can do is wait and watch, but what it holds will be interesting to see. And, with all the uncertainties surrounding the Brexit deal and its effect on the cricketing scene, the world waits and so do the fans, talking about their opinions all these events as they unfold. Players like Vernon Philander who have been contracted under this deal will also be wanting to know how things pan out as it would affect their run and professional careers greatly.