Gavaskar bats for India over IPL

A day after a second-rung side — handicapped by many seniors pulling out due to injuries and personal reasons — was picked up for the West Indies tour, Sunil Gavaskar said, “It is the player’s prerogative to decide if he wants to rest during the IPL or India’s tour." Amol Karhadkar reports.

There’s no end to the club-versus-country debate.

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A day after a second-rung side — handicapped by many seniors pulling out due to injuries and personal reasons — was picked up for the West Indies tour, Sunil Gavaskar said, “It is the player’s prerogative to decide if he wants to rest during the IPL or India’s tour. If a player rests during an Indian tour, then the selectors should be strong enough not to select that player for future tours.”

Six players — MS Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh and Sachin Tendulkar — pulled out of the Caribbean tour.

The cricket fraternity, however, is divided over Gavaskar's remarks. Kiran More, former India wicket-keeper, felt selectors had little options. “A player has to prefer international cricket over IPL but a selector cannot drop him if he is available for selection,” he said.

“The BCCI should look into the matter of excessive cricket,” said former India coach Anshuman Gaekwad.

Gavaskar was in IPL’s governing council for three years before he quit over money issues.