Marcus Stoinis, Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff and Andrew Tye will not be part of Western Australia’s (WA) contract list for 2024-25 season. That effectively means that they are free to pursue T20 opportunities outside the Big Bash League (BBL) and international matches for Australia.

However, the door is not completely closed for them. They are still eligible to play for WA. If they play, they will be paid accordingly and if they mamage to play enough matches, they will earn an upgrade to minimum state contract

Stoinis is currently part of Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, Behrendorff was forced to pull out of the tournament as he continues to recover from a broken leg and faces race against time to be fit for the T20 World Cup, starting June 1 in the US and West Indies.

Agar was due to play in the One-Day International (ODI) World Cup but had to pull out due to a calf injury. He last played for Australia in September last year. Stoinis has been a regular member of the Australian white-ball set-up, while Behrendorff — Australia’s T20 player of the year—has played eight of Australia’s last 14 T20 Internationals (T20I).

The option to take up the freelance route has become quite common of late in Australian cricket circles. Daniel Sams had declined a New South Wales (NSW) contract last season, while Kane Richardson took the same route with Queensland. David Warner, too, is expected to do the same following his international retirement after the T20 World Cup.

“I think the beauty of this decision, it allows me to be available for everything,” Agar told ESPN.

“Obviously, if there’s a white-ball [franchise] opportunity that comes up I’m able to take that now. But if there isn’t, and I am available to play a Shield game for WA, of course, I would take that opportunity. This decision is all about playing as much cricket as possible.”

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