• Source:JND

Cricketing legend Sunil Gavaskar slammed overseas players who pull out of the IPL after being bought by franchises, only to return and play domestic cricket soon afterwards. Notably, Sam Curran made headlines in the IPL 2026 as he was seen featuring in domestic T20 cricket for Surrey in the Vitality Blast despite being a part of the Rajasthan Royals (RR).

The former India captain welcomed the BCCI’s rule that imposes a two-year ban on players who enter the IPL auction, get picked by a franchise and then withdraw without a valid reason.

“The BCCI’s ban for two years on those who enter the auction and, after being picked, then withdraw at the last moment, not for injury but brownie points with their local media, is another good move,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar. “They should also ban those who come to the IPL and, when they find they aren’t being picked regularly, feign an injury and return home and then play in their domestic cricket even while the IPL is still going on.”

Gavaskar believes some overseas players do not always respect their IPL commitments despite making themselves available for the tournament before entering the auction.

“Plenty of overseas players take the IPL for granted and sometimes, in connivance with their Boards, make some excuse and not play in the full tournament as they agreed before they entered the auction,” he wrote.

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He also pointed out the problems franchises face when players pull out late. According to Gavaskar, teams are often left scrambling because finding a replacement at short notice is not easy.

“The franchise cannot go running around for a replacement at this late hour, and so has no option but to wait for the Board to release the player. Remember, the Boards get 10% of the player fee, not from the player. This is an additional cost to the franchise, and that is why it is important for BCCI to be firm and ensure this does not happen. Cutting the player’s fee according to the number of matches he is missing should also apply to the percentage that the overseas Boards get for their player,” he suggested.

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The batting great also took aim at cricket’s traditional power structure, saying boards that benefit financially from the IPL should make sure their players honour their commitments and stay for the full season.

“The cricketing world has been ruled by the old powers without giving anything to the other Boards. Here, BCCI is giving to the Boards too, and so should be telling them not to take the helplessness of the franchise as a weakness and to cancel the contracts of those who don’t want to play the full tournament. No compromises. This is the IPL, not just the best T20 tournament in the world, but also the making of millionaires out of some really ordinary overseas players,” he wrote.


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