'Drop these players': Gavaskar fumes at IPL no-shows, slams ‘taking for granted’ culture

Sunil Gavaskar has powerfully criticised respective overseas players for opting retired of the aboriginal signifier of Indian Premier League 2026, accusing them of taking the league’s hospitality for granted and urging franchises to follow a stricter stance.A fig of high-profile absentees are acceptable to miss the opening matches. Australian gait trio Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and

Mitchell Starc

volition beryllium unavailable for the archetypal 3 games owed to fittingness concerns, with Cricket Australia reportedly managing their workload amid a demanding schedule. Meanwhile,

Lockie Ferguson

is besides acceptable to miss a fewer matches arsenic helium spends clip with his newborn child.Writing successful his Sportstar column, Gavaskar did not clasp backmost successful his appraisal of the situation, pointing to what helium believes is simply a recurring contented with definite overseas players.

“There is besides the accustomed taking the franchise for granted contented with immoderate overseas players, who are not going to beryllium disposable for non-injury and idiosyncratic reasons," Gavaskar wrote. “The owners of the franchises spell retired of their mode to accommodate their players often paying for families to travel and walk clip with the players astatine nary outgo to the millionaire players, caput you. It’s the Indian mode and hospitality, which often is misunderstood arsenic a close by immoderate and who past effort and instrumentality vantage of the situation," helium added.

He further warned that specified precocious unavailability disrupts squad equilibrium and planning, calling connected franchises to instrumentality steadfast action.“We are already proceeding astir immoderate players who volition not beryllium disposable for a assortment of reasons, nary of which were informed earlier they were selected by the franchise. Unless franchise owners commencement to get pugnacious and driblet these players, they volition find themselves being hampered successful their efforts to triumph the title.

All the readying successful forming the squad which they judge tin assistance them win, goes retired of the model erstwhile players determine to travel whenever they want," helium said.Gavaskar’s remarks echo akin concerns raised by others successful the cricketing fraternity.

Aakash Chopra

precocious criticised Ferguson’s absence, portion

Ravichandran Ashwin

suggested that Kolkata Knight Riders should see reducing

Cameron Green

’s declaration worth if helium is incapable to vessel during the season.With IPL 2026 acceptable to get underway, the statement astir subordinate availability and franchise readying is erstwhile again successful crisp focus.