IPL 2026: 'Drop these players' - Sunil Gavaskar slams overseas stars over last-minute pullouts, late arrivals
"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 a column.
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Legendary India batter Sunil Gavaksar was left unimpressed by the lack of professionalism shown by some overseas players who failed to turn up ahead of the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) season.
IPL is set to enter its 19th year in 2026. However, before the tournament begins, there are always a few overseas players who pull out of the tournament due to different reasons, including personal grounds, workload management or sometimes genuine injury concerns.
Gavaskar cites issues with players who miss the IPL due to non-injury reasons, stating that these players take Indian franchises and hospitality for granted. IPL teams spend a lot of time and resources in building a squad capable of winning the tournament, but when certain overseas players pull out, it messes with the preparations.
"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. 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 is often misunderstood as a right by some, who then try to take advantage of the situation," Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar.
"We are already hearing about some players who will not be available for a variety of reasons, none of which were informed before they were selected by the franchise. Unless franchise owners start to get tough and drop these players, they will find themselves 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," he added.
Ahead of the start of the 2026 IPL season, the Australian bowling trio of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood will be joining their respective franchises after missing a part of the tournament with Cricket Australia citing workload management ahead of a busy international calendar. It is, however, worth mentioning that both Hazlewood and Cummins are coming back from long-term injuries which prevented them from competing in the Ashes.
IPL 2026: Full list of injured and unavailable players
Starc, on the other hand, played in all five Test matches against England and then represented the Sydney Sixers in five Big Bash League games.
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