Explaining Kolpak, the ruling that allowed Kyle Abbot to ditch South Africa for country cricket

Cape Town: South African cricket was rocked Thursday when fast bowler Kyle Abbott and one-day star Rilee Rossouw quit the national team in order to play county cricket in England under so-called ‘Kolpak contracts’. [caption id=“attachment_3190126” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Kyle Abbott confirmed signing a Kolpak deal with Hampshire five months ago. Getty Images[/caption] Here, AFP Sports explains Kolpak agreements: – The Kolpak ruling came into force in 2003 when the European Court of Justice ruled that anyone with a work permit from a country which has an associate trading agreement with the EU had the same rights as a European worker. – The ruling originally related to Slovakian handball player Maros Kolpak who was released from his German club because of a quota on non-EU players. He claimed it was unfair and the court ruled in his favour. – A player becomes eligible for a Kolpak deal when he gives up the right to play for his country, and is not classed as an overseas-player signing. – Kolpak players need only a working holiday visa to play.