After receiving a 3-0 drubbing from Virat Kohli’s men in the recently concluded test series, South African captain Faf du Plessis was very clear about why his team lost. Though he was gracious enough to acknowledge that the Indian team had outplayed the South Africans on sporting pitches, du Plessis also pointed a finger at another important factor — the Kolpak deal.

At the press conference du Plessis said: “It’s sad for South African cricket not to have the option of their best players. Simon Harmer has had an unbelievable season. And it would be great for South Africa to be in a position to where they could go, ‘He’s done well overseas. Let’s bring him on tour with us.”

Harmer is an off-spinner, who has been playing for Essex county for the last two years.

“You are missing out on all your best players and your talent pool is all of a sudden a lot smaller. So that’s something that we’ve identified to stop. But it’s been very difficult to stop,” he said.

What is the Kolpak deal?

According to ESPNcricinfo.com, citizens of countries that are part of the European Union Association Agreements, as South Africa is, can work in any EU country. In other words, South African cricketers are not treated as foreigners when they play county cricket in England, so they beat the quota for foreign players.

South Africa is part of the Cotonou Agreement with the EU, as are Zimbabwe and several Caribbean countries. So, cricketers from those countries are eligible to play in England under the ‘Kolpak’ deal.

The Kolpak deal

Maros Kolpak was a Slovakian handball player who had appealed to the European Court of Justice that he should not be considered a non-EU player while he was playing in the German handball league, as his country had an EU Association Agreement with Germany. Kolpak had lost his contract with a German club when he appealed, and the court ruled in his favour. (Source: ESPNcricinfo)

The Kolpak deal is similar to the rules in football within the EU. Players from EU nations playing within any EU country cannot be considered as foreign players. For example a German footballer playing in the English Premier League will not be considered as a foreigner and, hence, will escape the quota for foreign players in that league. Similarly, an English footballer playing in the Spanish La Liga or Italian Serie A or German Bundesliga will not be considered a foreign player. All this, of course, will change after the UK formally leaves the European Union.

But there is a crucial difference between European football and the Kolpak deal. Players taking advantage of the Kolpak deal cannot play for their national team. Whereas footballers from EU nations, playing within EU countries, are eligible to be selected for their national sides.

How this impacts South African cricket

Now, South African cricketers who are playing English county cricket under the Kolpak deal are ineligible to play for their country, at least till their county contracts run out. So, that restricts the talent pool for the South African national side.

South African cricket also has another peculiar dilemma. According to South African rules, only five white players can play for the national side. The rest of the team will have to be made up of non-white players. So, some talented white players feel they don’t stand a chance for selection as they have to fight for just five spots in an 11-member team. Consequently, many white players take the Kolpak option and play county cricket in England, which pays well. Some even try to qualify to play for the English national side.

Brexit and South African cricket

Of course, all this will change when Brexit happens. When the UK leaves the European Union formally, Kolpak contracts will most likely become void. So, it isn’t just UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson who’s in a hurry to take his country out of the EU. South African cricket, too, is eagerly waiting for Brexit to happen.

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