Ireland's men's cricketers have rejected a central contract offered by Cricket Ireland ahead of the T20I series against Pakistan as negotiations between the board and players continue.
Irish male and female cricketers were offered central contracts by Cricket Ireland last week. The women's team is yet to decide on an offer after recently taking part in the 2024 Women's T20 World Cup qualifiers, while men's team members have refused to accept the contract.
The ICC increased funding for Cricket Ireland in March this year after last year's central contract expired. Since then, the games Ireland have played have been played under the terms of last year's contract, which has been carried forward indefinitely, and a new contract has yet to be signed.
Financial constraints have meant Cricket Ireland has had to restructure its budget, which was only finalized last month, and has caused delays in announcing home fixture dates and negotiating player contracts.
According to the report, irish times, the latest proposal by the board was rejected by players who have been discussing pay rises since the ICC announced an increase in funding late last year. Until an agreement is reached, the players will continue to operate under the terms of last year's contracts, but any difference in salary will be backdated to March 1, when the new contracts were originally supposed to begin.
recently, Cricket Ireland has announced that the Australian white-ball series scheduled for later this year will have to be postponed indefinitely due to significant financial losses.
The Ireland men's team is scheduled to begin a three-match T20I series against Pakistan on May 10. They will then travel to the Netherlands to play in three consecutive matches that also include Scotland, before finally flying to the United States where they will play the 2024 T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to begin against India on June 5.
Ireland Women lost to Scotland in the semi-finals of the Women's T20 World Cup qualifiers, missing out on qualification for the T20 World Cup to be held in Bangladesh in October, and will next face Sri Lanka in August and England in September.
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