Players may not try as hard while playing international cricket as they usually would if the matches are happening during the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction, batting great Sunil Gavaskar has said.
The mega auction ahead of the 2022 IPL took place a day after the end of India's ODI series against the West Indies. Gavaskar said that the kind of money that is on offer in the auctions would be life-changing for all players involved.
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"The auction is a life-changing one for all the players as it opens doors to a secure future for them and their families," Gavaskar wrote in his column for the Times of India. "That can also lead to some to not try as hard when playing for their country, especially when the IPL is round the corner, so to speak.
"This is to ensure that there is no injury that will prevent them from being fit for the IPL and missing out on the security that an IPL contract guarantees. So the diving and sliding, or the hard throws from the deep, are not attempted for fear of doing some damage that will mean withdrawal from the IPL."
{{/usCountry}}"This is to ensure that there is no injury that will prevent them from being fit for the IPL and missing out on the security that an IPL contract guarantees. So the diving and sliding, or the hard throws from the deep, are not attempted for fear of doing some damage that will mean withdrawal from the IPL."
{{/usCountry}}Gavaskar said that the fans of the franchises would be looking for early signs of whether their teams were right in signing players on for big money. As many as 204 players were sold during the two-day mega auction with a whopping ₹550 crore spent. India wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan was the most expensive acquisition at ₹15.25 crore.
"For those who were unlucky, it's an opportunity to prove that it was a mistake not to pick them and with more matches and teams in the IPL, there is always an opportunity to be a replacement player," said Gavaskar.
“The followers of each franchise will be looking for early signs whether the money that they forked out is going to be worth it. That in itself will create pressure of expectations from the players and that could be a telling factor in these matches," the former India captain said.