Pat Cummins and Australian Stars Could Skip BBL for for ₹5.5 Crore SA20 Deals: Report

Australian cricket could soon face a major player-retention problem, with several top stars reportedly considering prioritising overseas franchise leagues over the Big Bash League unless player salaries rise significantly.

According to a report by the Sydney Morning Herald, a group of senior Australian cricketers - including captain Pat Cummins - may seriously consider seeking no-objection certificates to play in South Africa's SA20 competition in January 2028 if Cricket Australia cannot offer salaries closer to global franchise-market standards.

The report claims Australia's top multi-format stars now believe their market value in overseas franchise leagues sits close to the AUD 1 million range, far beyond what the BBL currently offers.

Pat Cummins, Starc and Hazlewood reportedly received massive Hundred offers

The report also revealed that Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood were approached to play in The Hundred this year with pre-auction offers reportedly worth around AUD 800,000 each.

Those deals would have required them to miss Australia's Test series against Bangladesh in August.

All three eventually rejected the offers, prioritising international cricket, but the growing financial gap between national commitments and franchise cricket is reportedly becoming a significant tension point within Australian cricket.

Cummins himself recently acknowledged those pressures during an appearance on the Business of Sport podcast.

"Some of our guys are saying no to half a million pounds for 20 days' work to go and play those two Test matches against Bangladesh," Cummins said.

"At the moment, our guys are so keen to play for Australia that they're happy to forgo that, but I don't think we can accept that that is going to be the case forever."

SA20 emerging as serious threat to BBL

The SA20's financial power has rapidly grown in recent years, with several elite international cricketers now earning figures close to AUD 1 million per tournament.

That has reportedly created concern inside Cricket Australia, especially with the 2027-28 season expected to be one where the BBL becomes the centrepiece of the Australian summer schedule.

Unlike this season - where the BBL clashes with Australia's Test tour of India - the 2027-28 calendar is expected to leave several major Australian stars available during January.

That could theoretically allow players like Cummins, Travis Head, Starc and Hazlewood to return to the BBL full-time.

However, overseas franchise leagues may still offer significantly better financial packages.

Cricket Australia considering major BBL changes

According to the report, Cricket Australia is now seriously considering scrapping the BBL overseas draft model introduced in 2022.

The overseas draft has reportedly distributed more than AUD 20 million to imported players across platinum and gold categories, frustrating several domestic Australian players who feel local talent remains underpaid.

Removing the draft would allow franchises to sign overseas players directly while potentially redistributing more money toward elite Australian cricketers.

CA's head of cricket James Allsopp recently admitted Australian players are increasingly in demand globally.

"There's a world now, where they can jump on the franchise circuit and make a really good living away from Australian cricket, or even away from our BBL," Allsopp said.

"And that's not going to be in the best interests of Australian cricket."

Growing frustration around player payments

The report also claims there is increasing frustration within Australian cricket around how money is being distributed.

While Cricket Australia recently offered huge long-term contracts to stars like Cummins and Travis Head, some players are reportedly unhappy with the widening pay gap deeper down the contract system.

There is also frustration surrounding overseas imports earning more than established Australian BBL players through the draft system.

Former Cricket Australia chief executive Malcolm Speed criticised that structure while speaking to SEN.

"There's a premium for international players in the BBL - they get about $100,000 more than the top Australian players," Speed said.

"Get rid of that. The Australians deserve to be paid as much as everyone else."

BBL facing defining moment

The issue arrives at a sensitive time for Cricket Australia after plans to sell stakes in all eight BBL franchises reportedly failed to reach consensus before the proposed 2027-28 timeline.

With SA20, The Hundred and Major League Cricket continuing to increase salaries globally, Australian cricket now faces a growing challenge - balancing national loyalty with the rapidly expanding economics of franchise cricket.

For now, Australia's biggest stars continue choosing international cricket first.

But reports suggest that loyalty may not hold forever unless the financial gap begins to close.