Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar has slammed the absence of several overseas players from the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League, saying that a few of them are taking the league's franchises "for granted" for being unavailable for reasons other than injuries.
"There is also the usual taking-the-franchise-for-granted issue with some overseas players, who are not going to be available for non-injury and personal reasons," Gavaskar wrote in his latest column for the Sportstar.
Gavaskar's remarks come in the wake of a spate of players making themselves unavailable for the upcoming IPL season, either entirely or for a few matches. Some of these players are actually injured, a few of them have opted out due to reasons other than injuries.
An example of a player set to miss the IPL games is Mitchell Starc. The Australian pacer is expected to be unavailable for a few matches for Delhi Capitals, though his absence is not linked to any injury. Speaking at a press conference on Monday, head coach Hemang Badani said the franchise is awaiting a no-objection certificate from Cricket Australia. Once the clearance is received, Starc will be eligible to feature in the league.
Gavaskar believes that the IPL teams are accommodative as they often pay for the player's family too and it is the Indian way of showering hospitality on these players but this generosity is misunderstood.
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"The owners of the franchises go out of their way to accommodate their players, often paying for families to come and spend time with the players at no cost to the millionaire players, mind you. It's the Indian way and hospitality, which often is misunderstood as a right by some and who then try to take advantage of the situation. Gavaskar wrote.
In order to deal with the issue the league had introduced a rule in 2024 where in an overseas players who opt out of an IPL season after being picked at the auction, without valid reasons, will be banned from playing in the league for two years. Last year, English batter Harry Brook became the first player to get banned from the league as he withdrew from the 2025 season after being bought by Delhi Capitals for Rs 6.25 crore.
Gavaskar believes that the owners of the teams will have to take the tough call of dropping these players.
"Unless franchise owners start to get tough and drop these players, they will find themselves being hampered in their efforts to win the title. All the planning in forming the squad which they believe can help them win, goes out of the window when players decide to come whenever they want. Gavaskar wrote.
The new season of the IPL gets underway on March 28 with the match between defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
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