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Follow UsSouth Africa’s Tabraiz Shamsi has become the latest cricketer to opt out of a national central contract, with the left-arm wrist-spinner confirming that he’s taken the decision to ‘explore all opportunities available’ and look after his family in ‘the best way possible’.
The decision from Shamsi is an understandable one since he is 34 and not an all-format player, but the point remains: we’re witnessing a radical change in front of our eyes, with players — even the younger ones — more than comfortable to pass up national contracts and just rely on franchise cricket to satisfy their financial needs.
It remains to be seen who will join Shamsi soon and expand the list, but the list is already a significant one.
We look at some of the big names among active players who have opted out of a central contract and freed themselves from mandatory international and domestic cricket obligations.
Easily the biggest name among all teams to have declined a central contract. Williamson took the decision in June this year, in the aftermath of the Blackcaps’ horror T20 World Cup 2024 campaign.
“Playing for New Zealand is something I treasure, and my desire to give back to the team remains undiminished.
“However, pursuing an overseas opportunity during the New Zealand summer means I’m unable to accept a central contract offer,” Williamson said in his statement.
Williamson would have been obliged to play the white-ball series at home against Sri Lanka in December / January if he held a contract, but thanks to declining the contract, the 34-year-old will instead be playing in the SA20 after new year, representing Durban’s Super Giants.
However, despite declining the central contract, the former New Zealand skipper has made it clear that Test cricket will always be his priority.
Boult is sort of an OG in this regard. He opted out of a central contract way back in August 2022 itself, well before anyone else.
And, unlike Williamson, he opted out so that he could stop playing Test cricket altogether, preserve his body and maximise his earnings in franchise cricket.
It’s proven to be a very smart decision from a personal standpoint for Boult, who in the last two years has played in the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Big Bash League (BBL), the ILT20 and Major League Cricket (MLC) while representing the Kiwis in two T20 World Cups.
Boult has also played in the Abu Dhabi T10 League, representing Deccan Gladiators.
The left-arm pacer has not announced his international retirement, yet, but his New Zealand career is as good as over.
Nicholas Pooran turned down a central contract in December last year, but he’s still continued to remain the nucleus of West Indies’ batting in T20Is.
The bitter truth here is that West Indies need Pooran way more than Pooran needs the national team, so they’ve made peace with the fact that the left-hander will be the first name on the team sheet in T20Is despite not being centrally contracted.
2024 has been a ludicrous year for Nicholas ‘no central contract’ Pooran, who has smashed all sorts of records, including scoring the most number of runs in a year in T20s and smashing the most sixes in a calendar year.
And he’s not done yet.
In May last year, Jason Roy ‘gave up’ his central contract with the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to play in the MLC, where he got an offer from the Los Angeles Knight Riders (LAKR).
He was still eligible to be picked for England despite the decision, but that move pretty much marked the end of Roy’s international career; the 34-year-old has not represented England in any format since giving up his contract.
But the decision has allowed Roy to turn into a proper T20 globetrotter. He’s played in the CPL, MLC, PSL, ILT20 and SA20 in 2024 alone. Like Boult, he also featured in the 2023 edition of Abu Dhabi T10.
Other notable names who have opted out of central contracts
West Indies - Andre Russell, Jason Holder & Kyle Mayers
New Zealand - Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson & Adam Milne
South Africa - Anrich Nortje
*For England, Ben Stokes turned down a three-year deal from the ECB last year and instead signed a one-year extension. He is, however, contracted to the board centrally.
