Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar urged the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to spring into action and take measures against some overseas players who deliberately feign injuries during the T20 tournament after not getting a regular chance in the playing XI for their respective teams. The 1983 World Cup winner added that it is time for overseas players to be taught a lesson, as they cannot take the franchises for a ride.
The IPL 2026 season, which concluded with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) winning the title, saw several player availability issues. After the Rajasthan Royals were eliminated from the tournament following their loss in Qualifier 2 to the Gujarat Titans, head coach Kumar Sangakkara revealed that the franchise was disappointed to see Sam Curran play in the Vitality T20 Blast after he withdrew from the IPL due to an injury.
Without naming any players, Gavaskar said that strict punishment is needed for overseas stars who return home midway through the tournament, as this is not fair to the franchises, which are left with the hard task of finding a replacement.
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“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. 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 wrote in his column for Sportstar.
{{/usCountry}}“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. 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 wrote in his column for Sportstar.
{{/usCountry}}“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. 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,” he added.
‘Additional cost’
The legendary batter also reminded one and all that foreign boards also get 10 per cent of a player's earnings once he is picked in the auction. Gavaskar said that money should be deducted from a player's salary based on how many matches he misses for the franchise.
The former India captain then rounded up his radical suggestion by taking another potshot at overseas players, saying some of them become millionaires in the IPL despite being “ordinary.”
“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,” Gavaskar wrote.
“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,” the former India captain wrote further.