Australian cricketers turn to India for new jobs  

What's the story?

Tim Cruickshank, the commercial manager of Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA) is in India to explore new job opportunities for the Australian cricketers. Due to the ongoing pay dispute between Cricket Australia and ACA, about 230 players have been left unemployed.

Tim explained the purpose behind his visit in an exclusive interview with TOI. He said, "The main reason for my trip is to have a few meetings, because as of July 1, when the players came off contract, the majority of the Australian cricketers have signed their intellectual property over to the ACA, and that's been managed by the cricketer's brand wing of ACA. So, that creates obviously a number of commercial opportunities for the ACA and for the players"

He also added that since the players are unemployed due to the dispute, it will be beneficial if they are able to find additional sources of revenue for the players and the board.

In case you didn't know...

The pay dispute between Cricket Australia and ACA took an ugly turn when the two failed to reach the Memorandum of Understanding by June 30 which was fixed as the deadline. This left Australian cricketers unemployed. The players chose to boycott the upcoming fixtures for the Australian team until the pay structure is revamped to meet their demands.

Australia A tour to South Africa was also canceled because of the friction between the two bodies.

The details

Tim stated that on behalf of the ACA, he is meeting a number of local companies and influential people from the market in order to crack deals for the players who are associated with ACA. He refused to believe that the brand value of these players will go down if they are missing from the International Cricket.

He asserted that the players will return to play International Cricket once the pay dispute is dissolved. According to him, this phase will have an opposite impact upon the Australian market as the companies intend to support the players.

Extra cover: With franchise based structure showing the way, is international cricket worth protecting?

What's next?

If the pay dispute is not solved soon, Australia's tour to Bangladesh might get canceled.

Author's take

The dispute over the revenue share between Australian Cricketers and Cricket Australia has taken a toll on the overall image of Cricket in Australia. The players have a fair point in demanding a share in the revenue, especially when it comes to the domestic players, because they contribute majorly in strengthening the Board.

If the Australian Cricketers are looking beyond their national boundaries in order to find additional sources of revenue, Indian Cricket will be a safe option for them.The two parties can conveniently seek mutual benefits from the deals that ACA signs for the players.