When we think of international sport, we tend to think of Football – where it is not unusual for English players to retire from English football and take up home for another team elsewhere. There are lots of reasons for this, although of course money is always a big factor in making such a big move. Over recent years we have seen a massive shift in cricket and the opportunities that it offers, including for those that want to do more than just play for English teams.
The Move To The Indian Premier League
We have seen big changes in Indian cricket over recent years’ which has meant that it has increased massively in popularity. The fact that the league now gives cricket professionals the chance to look at new opportunities and consider playing against a different set of people has definitely helped many English players decide that a leap to an international team is the way to go.
English cricket has been popular for a number of years and this popularity doesn’t look set to change any time soon. However, there are only so many teams you can join and players to play against. After a few years of the same cricket circuits, you can see why players may be tempted to head elsewhere – for example, to join a team that allows them to play within India cricket matches.
Money Talks
Without a doubt, the pay that the Indian Premier League offers will be a big pull for English players. Any fast-paced sport has a relatively short career span in the grand scheme of things, so players will be keen to make sure that they can play and earn money while they can. For example, Chris Morris has a salary of £1.65Million this year – a decent amount to earn by anyone’s standards, so you can see why he might choose to take them up on this.
Female cricket players in the Indian Premier League have seen their earnings increase massively over recent years. Women players have started to be recognised as just as valuable as their male counterparts within the premier leagues and this has meant that their pay has increased, although not quite to match this, some female IPL Players can earn as much as £1M.
Being Recognisable
As we know, the career length of a professional sports player can be short so it is important that they consider what they will do when they can no longer play competitively. Generally speaking, the more well-known they are, the more opportunities they will be given – seminars, promotional events, advertising etc.
By expanding where they play and making sure they are known throughout different countries they are expanding the opportunities they could be offered once they retire from competitive matches. If they’re known across the IPL as well as within England then they have double the chance of being able to score some work once they stop playing – which is a great thing to secure a long term career.
Although playing sports is about fun and winning, there is a part of it that is about their branding and creating a name for themselves. After all, most of the famous sports players you can name have probably worked across a number of teams and countries – and this isn’t by accident. Making sure they are seen to showcase their fantastic sports skills to as many people as possible helps to secure their future, as well as making them some decent salary amounts along the way – so it makes sense that they want to step out and play for the IPL too!
