Sydney, Dec 22 (IANS) Indian Premier League (IPL) chief Lalit Modi has threatened to tear up the contracts of Australian players if they do not skip the last round and the final of the Sheffield Shield season for the Twenty20 extravaganza in India.
It is understood that Cricket Australia (CA) has told the Indian board, which owns the IPL, that players would be released for the 2010 tournament when their Sheffield Shield duties are done.

This year’s IPL has been pushed back to later in March because of the International Cricket Council’s Twenty20 World Championships. That means the Twenty20 league clashes with the last rounds of the Sheffield Shield and its final.

Modi said players have to be available for the start of his league competition and there is talk the states would be banned from the Champions League if they do not release their charges.

The Champions League, initiated earlier this year, features the finalists of the IPL and various other Twenty20 leagues around the world, including the KFC Big Bash of Australia.

This year New South Wales won the inaugural Champions League and took home $3 million prize money.

“The IPL 2010 season is in March-April, when a lot of domestic tournaments will still be on,” Modi was quoted as saying by The Australian.

“This is a one-off situation. The IPL requires No-Objection Certificates from the home boards for players to participate in IPL. This was essentially done to protect the FTP (Future Tours Program) commitments. However, this (NOC) does not include domestic tournaments,” Modi noted.

“A worst-case scenario could mean penalties on such players, including termination of contracts, jeopardising future participation. However, we do not want to walk that path and are hopeful to sort this through discussions with the boards.”

The states, with the CA’s backing, have stood firm on the issue however. Cricket Victoria chief executive Tony Dodemaide said that while the situation may be complicated, state duty came first.

“Clearly we will expect our players to compete for Victoria,” he said.

The IPL broadcaster is struggling to make a return after paying almost $1 billion for the 10-year rights at the top of the market and suffered last year from the impact of the global financial crisis and the movement of the competition to South Africa because of a clash with the Indian elections.

However, the franchises have prospered. Modi announced recently two new franchises would joint the competition from 2011 and would be sold for $225 million - twice the amount the most expensive franchise fetched two years before.

This also means the next tournament will feature 94 games as opposed to the current 59.

Meanwhile, Modi has been pushing for all contracts to be voided after this competition and all players again put up for auction, but the franchises have complained and he has indicated that key players can stay with their sides.

A number of Australian players, including Justin Langer and Simon Katich, were recently paid out by their franchises without having to compete in this year’s tournament.