Subscribe Now! Get features like
Soon after England announced their squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup late last month, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) clarified that the cricketers picked for the ICC tournament have to return home from their ongoing IPL duties for the home contest against Pakistan, which begins from May 22 onwards. England’s team managing director, Rob Key, added that captain Jos Buttler wanted England players to withdraw from IPL 2024 ahead of the playoffs. However, the decision left former India captain Sunil Gavaskar livid as he called for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to take severe action against foreign players leaving the tournament for their national duties.
Even though the BCCI were quick to initiate a conversation with the ECB to come to a conclusion in favour of the IPL franchises who will suffer a big loss post May 17, there have been no official update on the change of plans for England players.
With less than a week left before the players depart for the home series in preparation for the T20 World Cup, which begins from June 1 onwards, Gavaskar, in his column for Mid Day, urged both the respective IPL franchises and the BCCI to take a strong step against such acts. He wants IPL teams to cut the salaries of the players, who have been paid in full for being available for the entire duration of the season, and wants BCCI to penalise their cricket boards, who get 10 per cent commission making their players available for the IPL, to which the cricketers belong.
“I am all for players choosing country before anything else but having assured various franchises about their availability for the full season, if they pull out now, it will be letting down the franchises which probably pay them more money in one IPL season which they don’t earn in a few seasons with their country. The franchises should not only be allowed to deduct a substantial amount from the fee that the player was bought for, but also not give the Board, to which the player belongs, the stated 10 per cent commission of the fee that each player gets.
If the Board has gone back on its assurance they need to be penalised too. By the way, this 10 per cent commission to the Boards happens only in the IPL and nowhere else. Not in the Australian Big Bash nor in the ECB’s The Hundred, nor in the Caribbean Premier League, nor any other T20 league anywhere else in the world. Does the BCCI get any thanks for its generosity? No way,” he said.
