"I think a lot of people are going to do" - Ashton Agar warns of cricketers taking full-time T20 opportunities in near future
Australia's spin-bowling all-rounder Ashton Agar anticipates several players to follow his route of becoming a T20 freelancer in the coming years. With plenty of T20 cricket opportunities popping up around the world, Agar expects players to jump in and secure their contracts.
The 30-year-old has featured in only three international games across formats over the last 18 months and has taken up national contracts with Western Australia. The left-arm spinner has followed the likes of Tim David, Marcus Stoinis, Jason Behrendroff, and Andrew Tye.
Speaking to The Unplayable Podcast, Agar predicts that T20 cricket is where the sport is going to go and cricketers will follow that route.
"What I've learned is that you can't cling on to safety in your skills and then your contracts. I've made that mistake before and your cricket skills fall away, if you're clinging on to safety and security. I think a lot of people are going to do what I've just done in the coming years. We'll see it a lot more next year, more the year after – and that's just going to be the way cricket works. Because there's so much T20 cricket around the world, guys aren't going to want to take contracts that lock them into certain things," he explained.
Agar, who last played a T20I in October 2022, will partner Adam Zampa in the T20 World Cup 2024. Agar has a promising T20I record, picking up 48 wickets in 47 matches at an average of 22.35 and an economy rate of 6.47.
"I was preparing for most of the summer with this in the back of my mind" - Ashton Agar on World Cup inclusion
Agar went on to praise the selectors for their clear message regarding his inclusion in Australia's T20 World Cup squad.
"It had been really positive (messaging from national selectors) the whole time that if we were going to take two spinners I was going to go. So I was preparing for most of the summer with this in the back of my mind. That's nice because you can wrap your head around it mentally a little earlier and prepare," he stated.
Australia will open their T20 World Cup campaign against Oman on Thursday, June 6.