Melbourne, April 10 (Inditop) Andrew Symonds and Brett Lee might have got a recall to the Australian cricket team but it will leave them with a hole in their bank account.
Between them, the stars will lose about $1.25 million for missing the Indian Premier League (IPL) starting April 18 and playing for the national team in the upcoming limited-overs series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Symonds and Lee were by no means considered certainties for the tour and looked ready to reap the financial rewards of the Twenty20 competition before being handed the chance to revive their international careers before this year’s Ashes series.
A full IPL season would have landed the embattled Symonds some $1.37 million on current exchange rates, The Australian reports.
But if he plays all six matches of Australia’s tour to Dubai and Abu Dhabi before heading to the back-end of the IPL in South Africa, he will earn around $604,858.
Lee’s situation is slightly different as he might not even play in the early matches against Pakistan as he recovers from ankle and foot surgery.
With Australia’s medical staff being extra cautious following the heavy injury toll of last summer, there is a slight chance Lee might not even play a fixture.
All the while his IPL side, Kings XI Punjab, will be in action as he fails to collect his $59,000 per game price tag.
Lee could have picked up $1 million for a full five-week IPL stint but his national call-up has meant the most he can earn with a late dash to South Africa is up to $410,8000 over the same period.
Australia play the opening match of the five-game one-day series in Dubai April 22 before the tour concludes with a Twenty20 clash May 7.
rounak