The Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations (FICA) has objected to the International Cricket Council’s bid to limit participation in global T20 leagues, fearing that it will stifle the growth of the game.

Full Members of the ICC convened at the ICC Annual Conference in Dublin last week and agreed in principle to cap participation to three T20 leagues per year as they felt the current market was to the detriment of international cricket, according to reports.

“International cricket needs to be strong and attract the best players,” FICA said in a media release on Wednesday. “Establishing an appropriate balance between the two is critical for the future.

“Cricket’s focus should be less on restricting players from playing where they are valued and more on positive measures to ensure an attractive system, including in relation to scheduling, economic models and the creation of world-class environments. The movement of players is a fundamental aspect of growing and developing the game globally in both existing and new markets.

“FICA is further concerned at reports following the ICC meetings that blanket regulation is to be introduced to restrict players to playing in three T20 leagues and believes that any arbitrary restriction is likely to constitute a restraint of trade in most countries. Any regulations should be designed to minimise the likelihood of successful legal challenge.”

The crux of the matter is that many players in recent years have opted to specialise in T20 cricket or cancel their international commitments in order to represent their franchise, such as West Indians Sunil Narine, Kieran Pollard, Darren Bravo and Andre Russell, who dodged the ICC World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe earlier this year to compete in the Pakistan Super League.