Mumbai: The American proverb 'If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!' is best used by New Zealand Cricket in dealing with the latest iteration of T20, Major League Cricket (MLC).

By choosing to collaborate with an MLC franchise last month (beginning in 2027), NZC signaled to its players that they could comfortably earn the extra dollar without the ethical dilemma of choosing between club and nation.

Significant participation from Kiwi players is anticipated in the month-long franchise offering, which starts Friday and is intended to take use of America's lucrative sports market. Among the best players from New Zealand who are expected to compete in 'The Land of the Free' are Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Philips, Daryll Mitchell, Devon Conway, Tim Siefert, and Lockie Ferguson.

The NZ cricket board has been the most amenable to the realities of cricket's evolving landscape due to their shallow player pool. The NZC was the first organization to permit its players to enter into "casual contracts." In practice, these contracts would permit the desired players to complete a few franchise obligations during bilateral cricket while yet being available for major ICC events.

Trent Boult is a perfect illustration. The fast bowler was selected to participate in the 2023 ODI World Cup and the 2024 T20 World Cup even though he was not a contracted player. While New Zealand's updated list of 20 contracted players is subdued, a NZC announcement states that "discussions on casual playing contracts for Kane Williamson, Devon Conway, Finn Allen, Tim Seifert and Lockie Ferguson are ongoing."

"Cricket is changing extremely rapidly. There is a high need for players in the franchise area, particularly the marquee icon players. "So rather than resist, it's to figure out a way to co-exist together," Rob Walter, head coach of New Zealand, told local reporters.

Many Kiwi players may have been drawn to franchise sports if not for this flexible strategy, a situation that most cricketing countries, with the exception of India, are currently dealing with.

West Indies has grown used to established players suddenly retiring from international cricket after being a cricket powerhouse. At the age of 29, Nicholas Pooran, who is perhaps the best T20 ball striker in the world right now, ended his international career this week. Even though the dysfunctional revenue model of international cricket did not align with the aspirations of these players, Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell, and Sunil Narine had previously paved the way by prioritizing T20 leagues.

This year, notable international retirements in international cricket include Heinrich Klaasen of South Africa (in all formats), Glenn Maxwell, Steve Smith, and Marcus Stoinis of Australia (in One Day Internationals).

Most cricket boards have established their own T20 leagues, but not all of them are successful, and they now struggle to profit from bilateral cricket—aside from the Big Three. Instead, the NZC, acknowledging the drawbacks of its unfavorable time zone for cricket's catchment market (India), decided to purchase stakes in an MLC franchise while also sharing their high-performance services.

"This is a first step into potentially investing in other leagues around the globe," said Scott Weenink, NZC CEO. "It gives us an opportunity to continue to be innovative, just as we are on the field, but also off the field by looking for new opportunities to grow our revenue streams and diversify our revenue streams."

The players benefit as well. "This is going to create huge opportunities for our players to play in a domestic franchise league overseas, thereby topping up their earnings that they receive from New Zealand Cricket," he stated further.

NZC's strategy of casual player contracts and calculated investments in franchise sport provides a temporary remedy, if not a permanent one, while world cricket addresses concerns about schedules, removes the excess from the international calendar, and decides for itself whether Test cricket is for everyone. Some other nations should pay attention to that as well.

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