Concern over unpaid IPL players

Tim May, the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations chief executive, has begun investigating how many players have not received their initial Indian Premier League fees and has warned if the problem is widespread they could walk away from their contracts. The Twenty20 tournament is due to begin on Friday and the Age reported two Australians had not been given a payment following the first IPL auction in February.

May said the rush to set up the competition had led to teething problems, but he was concerned by the absence of crucial documents and financial transfers. "There is a worry that some players have not been paid nor received their signed copies of contracts," May told the paper. "We need to get a good feel on how widespread it is. If it has just alienated a couple of players I'm sure the thing can be worked out reasonably sensibly."

He said organisations that started from scratch needed some leeway before warning the IPL of the potential consequences. "There may be a significant amount of players and their managers who, if obligations from the employer have not been honoured at this stage, the player, if he's taken the proper procedures to recover these obligations, might want to walk away from the contract or not take part in the game," he said. "That is a long shot at the moment. We need to get a feel for the size of the problem and then try to address it properly."

David Hussey, who sold for US$625,000 in February, is one of the Australians who has not received the 15% payment for their auction price, which was reportedly due on April 1. "It's been an absolute nightmare in terms of the paperwork required to get the players there," Hussey's manager Rick Olarenshaw said. "I don't think it's anything sinister. We're expecting to have all the paperwork done and Huss will be ready to play."