Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has voiced his criticism against players who opted to leave the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season midway and return home early for the T20 World Cup 2024 preparations.
Gavaskar believes that there should be consequences for such actions, suggesting that penalties should be imposed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on players who choose to depart from their teams during the course of the tournament.
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"I am all for players choosing country before anything else but having assured various franchises about their availability for the full season, if they pull out now, it will be letting down the franchises which probably pay them more money in one IPL season which they don’t earn in a few seasons with their country," Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-day.
"The franchises should not only be allowed to deduct a substantial amount from the fee that the player was bought for, but also not give the Board, to which the player belongs, the stated 10 per cent commission of the fee that each player gets.
"If the Board has gone back on its assurance they need to be penalised too. By the way, this 10 per cent commission to the Boards happens only in the IPL and nowhere else. Does the BCCI get any thanks for its generosity? Ha ha ha. No way."
England will play a three-match T20I series against Pakistan, starting from May 22 onwards. A few weeks ago, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) issued a statement requesting selected players, currently part of IPL 2024 season, to prioritize national duty and return for the upcoming home series against Pakistan.
"Selected players, currently playing in the Indian Premier League, will return in time for the series against Pakistan, which gets underway at Headingley on Wednesday 22 May 2024," the ECB said in a statement.