Australian cricketers play for love, not money, the country's chief selector said Wednesday after a survey found many top players would consider quitting to play in the new Indian Twenty20 leagues.
The survey, commissioned by the Australian Cricketer's Association, revealed that 47 percent of the country's elite Cricket Australia players would contemplate early retirement to earn more money in the Indian fixtures.
Forty-nine percent of cricketers who played at state level would consider ditching their Australian teams to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL) or its rival, the Indian Cricket League, said The Age newspaper, which published the survey results.
But national chairman of selectors, Andrew Hilditch, said the results did not match up with players' love for their country.
"I'd be very surprised if someone who is knocking on the door of Australian selection would take that stance," he said.
"There is a lot of money in the game both for Australian contracted players, and obviously there is a lot of money around the world at the moment, but the reality is I don't think many of them play for the money -- they still play to play for the country."
Hilditch said most of the players going to the IPL Twenty20 competition this month -- including Australian skipper Ricky Ponting, Test opener Matthew Hayden, paceman Brett Lee and all-rounder Andrew Symonds -- were going to enjoy themselves and improve their game.
"It's going to be good for their cricket," Hilditch said.
"But I think they are also looking forward to getting back to the training camp and getting ready to play for Australia again."
The survey also said that players expected to play in other competitions once they retired, with 93 percent of Australian players and 78 percent of state players saying they intended to do so.
Australia's tour of the West Indies begins in May.
