Sunil Gavaskar demands IPL auction ban for limited-availability players, calls for salary cap on uncapped stars
Published - 08 Dec 2025, 10:57 AM | Updated - 08 Dec 2025, 11:01 AM
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Legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has slammed the growing trend of overseas cricketers making themselves available for only a portion of the IPL season instead of committing to the entire tournament. Gavaskar felt that players who do not commit fully are not doing justice to the league.
The former Indian captain’s sharp reaction came after multiple foreign players informed the BCCI and franchises that they would participate only in selected matches of the Indian Premier League 2026. The issue gained attention when Australia’s Josh Inglis told the BCCI that he would play only 25% of the season.
Sunil Gavaskar slams overseas stars for picking and choosing IPL matches
Additionally, Australia’s Ashton Agar is available for 65% of the tournament, William Sutherland for 80%, New Zealand pacer Adam Milne for 95%, and South Africa’s Rilee Rossouw for only 20% of the matches in the next edition of the tournament.
Meanwhile, Gavaskar felt that the Indian Premier League is the biggest T20 competition in the world, and anyone who treats it casually should not be allowed to enter the auction.
He believes that only national duties should be a valid reason for missing the games, and anything apart from that is a lack of respect for the tournament.
Anybody taking the Indian Premier League lightly should not be considered at all: Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-Day: “There are some players who have made themselves available for a limited period. Frankly, if a player doesn’t show respect to the IPL and make himself available for the full tournament, he shouldn’t even be in the auction.”
The legendary batter further noted, “If something other than a national commitment is more important to him, then not one second of the auction should be wasted on him. The IPL is the best T20 league in the world, and anybody taking it lightly should not be considered at all.”
Sunil Gavaskar says mega Indian Premier League salaries are hurting hunger and growth in young cricketers
He also raised concerns about another growing issue, and that is the large sums paid to uncapped Indian players at the Indian Premier League. Gavaskar further explained his concern by saying, “Look at the initial price at which all those who went on to become great players for India were bought.”
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The well-known broadcaster continued, “They were all bought at their base prices and were thus hungry to perform and earn more. Now look at all the uncapped players bought for crores and see where they are now. Maybe there’s a lesson in that somewhere.”
Sunil Gavaskar raises alarm over IPL money
Since there is no salary cap for the uncapped players, Gavaskar noted that several young and relatively unknown players will once again end up earning multiple times more than the experienced Ranji Trophy players get while earning while playing in empty stadiums.
Gavaskar signed off by saying, “The sad part is that most, if not all, of these youngsters bought for huge sums hardly play in the tournament and are lost to the game after a season or two.”
Notably, the IPL 2026 auction is set for December 16 in Abu Dhabi. All 10 teams will try to outbid each other to fill 77 vacant spots, including 31 places for overseas players at the auction. A total of 1,355 players have registered for the auction, with 1,062 from India and 293 from other countries.
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