Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar launched a sharp critique of overseas players over their availability in the Indian Premier League (IPL), questioning their commitment and fitness claims in a blunt assessment. He also called for intervention from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), urging stricter rules for players who do not fully commit to their designated roles.
In his column for Sportstar, Gavaskar dismissed the “informed before” argument and mocked workload concerns, insisting that bowling four overs a match is hardly demanding.
“To suggest that the franchise was ‘informed before’ is not a great excuse. And ‘informed before’ is how much before the opening day of the tournament? Playing for the country is paramount and comes before franchise cricket, but don’t the franchises, who open not just their wallets but also their hearts to players and often their families, deserve full commitment?
It is also worth remembering that a bowler can bowl only four overs in a match. If they have bowled a similar number of deliveries in practice without issue, what is stopping them from doing so in the game? As a bowler, you are expected to bowl 56 overs across 14 league games over two months and, if your team reaches the final, perhaps another two or three games and 12 more overs.
C’mon, for a generation that keeps talking about how fit they are, that’s no load at all. Four overs in a match, that too not in one stretch, is too much for the body? Man, if the body is that fragile, then it’s best to give it two more months’ rest, isn’t it?” he wrote.
Gavaskar’s remarks come at a time when Kolkata Knight Riders are a bowler short, with Australia’s Cameron Green still recovering from injury. Cricket Australia had informed the franchise, and the all-rounder has been working on his bowling fitness in the KKR nets, but the situation did not sit well with Gavaskar.
It’s not just KKR. Sunrisers Hyderabad have also been affected, with captain Pat Cummins ruled out for at least the first half of the season, with no clarity on his return. Incidentally, both teams’ bowling attacks have struggled as they sit in the bottom half of the points table.
Gavaskar also pointed out how foreign cricket boards benefit financially from IPL contracts, arguing that players should, in turn, show greater accountability to franchises that invest heavily in them.
“The IPL has been a cash cow not just for overseas players but for their Boards too. Does the average Indian fan know that Cricket Boards get 10% of the fee a player from their country is bought for? It is not clear whether the BCCI or the franchise pays this commission for issuing the No Objection Certificate.”
He backed his argument with numbers: Australia supply the highest number of players (16), with a combined value of ₹121.65 crore, followed by South Africa (17) at ₹77 crore, England (12) at ₹68 crore, West Indies at ₹69 crore, and New Zealand (12) at ₹33 crore.
“No other T20 league in the world pays a single dime to the Boards of overseas players. Not even The Hundred, which held its first auction recently. Since four out of six teams have Indian owners, why not milk the cash cow?”
Gavaskar also called for strict punishment, urging the BCCI to impose a “two-year ban” on players who “are not available from the first game of the tournament unless they are on national duty.”
