Mumbai: Sunil Gavaskar hit back at suggestions of allowing Indian cricketers to play overseas T20 leagues, saying the “old powers” were simply looking to get their tournaments more sponsorships.
Gavaskar’s comments came not too long after former Australian wicketkeeper-batter Adam Gilchrist questioned the absence of Indian cricketers in franchised-based T20 leagues other than their own Indian Premier League.
“Some overseas former players have said that the Indian players should be allowed to play the Big Bash or the Hundred. Basically, they want their leagues to have more sponsorship etc. They are concerned about their cricket, which is totally understandable.
“But when Indian cricket looks to protect its cricket by ensuring that their players stay fresh for their matches and thus restricting them from playing overseas, that is not acceptable to the guys from the ‘old powers’,” Gavaskar wrote in his column on Sportstar.
“I’m not criticising the IPL, but why won’t Indian players come and play in the Big Bash league? I’ve never had an open and honest answer: Why are some leagues accessing every player in the world? No Indian player plays in any other T20 league. I am not saying in a provocative sense, but is that a fair question?” is what Gilchrist had asked earlier.
Gilchrist, who led the Deccan Chargers to their only title victory in IPL 2009 and was later part of IPL franchises such as the Punjab Kings, had also described dominance of IPL franchises in T20 leagues across the globe as a “dangerous” trend.
The owners of all six franchises in Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) upcoming T20 league have ties to the IPL while the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) also owns the Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) franchise in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).
Additionally, three IPL franchises — Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals besides KKR — have bought franchises in the UAE T20 League.
Indian cricketers that are contracted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) are not allowed to participate in foreign leagues such as Big Bash League and The Hundred. However, retired cricketers are an exception to this norm, as was the case with Yuvraj Singh participating in Canada’s GLT20.
Top Indian female cricketers however, have been exempted from this rule as the BCCI is yet to come up with a women’s version of the immensely successful IPL, as a result of which leading names such as Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana, Deepti Sharma are part of the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL).
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