Sunil Gavaskar demands IPL auction ban on players with limited availability and calls for salary cap for uncapped stars

Legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has dismissed the growing trend of foreign cricketers making themselves available for only part of the IPL season rather than committing to the entire tournament. Gavaskar felt that players who do not give their full effort do not do justice to the competition.

The former Indian captain’s sharp reaction came after several foreign players informed the BCCI and franchises that they would only participate in select matches of the Indian Premier League 2026. The issue gained attention when Australian Josh Inglis told the BCCI that he would play only 25% of the season.

Sunil Gavaskar slams foreign stars for choosing IPL matches

Furthermore, Australia’s Ashton Agar will be available for 65% of the tournament, William Sutherland for 80%, New Zealand pacer Adam Milne for 95% and South Africa’s Rilee Rossouw for just 20% of matches in the next edition of the tournament.

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Meanwhile, Gavaskar opined that the Indian Premier League is the biggest T20 league in the world and anyone who treats it casually should not be allowed into the auction.

He believes that only national duties should be a valid reason to miss the matches, and anything beyond that is a lack of respect for the tournament.

Anyone who takes the Indian Premier League lightly should not be taken into account at all: Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-Day, “There are players who have made themselves available for a limited period. Frankly, if a player shows no respect for the IPL and makes himself available for the entire tournament, he should not even participate in the auction.”

The legendary batsman further commented, “If anything other than a national commitment is more important to him, then not a second of the auction should be wasted on him. The IPL is the best T20 league in the world, and anyone who takes it lightly should not be considered at all.”

Sunil Gavaskar says mega salaries in the Indian Premier League are hurting the hunger and growth of young cricketers

He also raised concerns about another growing problem, namely the large sums paid to uncapped Indian players in the Indian Premier League. Gavaskar further explained his concern by saying, “Look at the initial price at which all those who became big players for India were bought.”

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The renowned broadcaster continued, “They were all bought at their base prices and thus hungry to perform and earn more. Now look at all the uncapped players who were bought for crores and see where they are now. Maybe there is a lesson in that somewhere.”

Sunil Gavaskar raises alarm over IPL money

Since there is no salary cap for uncapped players, Gavaskar noted that several young and relatively unknown players will once again end up earning several times more than the experienced Ranji Trophy players while playing in empty stadiums.

Gavaskar concluded by saying, “The sad thing is that most, if not all, of the young players bought for huge sums barely play in the tournament and after a season or two are lost in the game.”

Notably, the IPL 2026 auction will take place on December 16 in Abu Dhabi. All ten teams will try to outbid each other to fill 77 vacant spots, including 31 spots for foreign players in the auction. A total of 1,355 players have registered for the auction, of which 1,062 are from India and 293 from other countries.