“Imagine if Babar Azam was playing T20 tournaments and not playing for Pakistan” - Brad Hogg on country vs money debate

Former Australian cricketer Brad Hogg has stated that if players start preferring T20 leagues over international cricket, the same will severely affect the growth of the sport in those countries. According to Hogg, such decisions would not just affect their international games but grassroots as well.

The money versus country debate has been raging for a few years now, owing to the growing popularity of T20 tournaments, particularly the Indian Premier League (IPL). South Africa’s decision to pull out of the series against Australia to focus on their own T20 league has also led to a lot of questions about where international cricket is heading.

Sharing his views on the burning topic, Hogg admitted that there are some difficult times ahead for international cricket and some cricket-playing nations as well.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, he said:

“This (players skipping national duty for T20 leagues) will be a huge issue in the development of cricket in these regions. Young kids want to see their heroes and if they are not playing for their national team, that’s going to drop off into grassroots cricket.

"We won’t see the development of young players coming through. Just imagine if Babar Azam was playing T20 tournaments all around the world and not playing for Pakistan.”

In recent years, there have been a few instances of players skipping international matches to take part in the IPL . There are fears that this might become a recurring phenomenon in the years to come.

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“We will see players making this move” - Hogg on why players might be forced to choose money over country

While admitting that choosing franchises over country does not sound right, Hogg lamented that players in certain nations might be forced to do so to secure their future.

He explained:

“This is a huge issue, probably not so much for Australia, India and England, because the players there get remunerated quite well. But if you look at teams like West Indies, New Zealand and Bangladesh, we will see top-quality players making this move, just for the high value that they are going to get.”

Two new T20 leagues have been announced in recent times. While South Africa are coming up with their own tournament, the UAE is all set to put together a lucrative event.