In a recent development, the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises have recommended a two-year ban on overseas players who leave from the league without valid grounds after being purchased at auction. This decision is in reaction to a persistent issue that has disrupted team strategy and performance.
The IPL teams met with league executives to address the growing problem of overseas players withdrawing at the last minute, citing personal reasons. This tendency has left clubs rushing to recruit replacements from a far smaller pool of talent, affecting their overall performance.
“Strategies are devised keeping these overseas names in mind, Their sudden unavailability leaves us scrambling to find replacements, which is neither fair to the teams nor to the fans” one franchise owner said.
IPL franchises call for two-year ban on overseas players for last-minute withdrawals without valid reasons: Report
)
According to ESPNcricinfo, all ten IPL franchises agreed on the necessity for stronger standards.
The owners emphasized the negative impact of last-minute withdrawals on team performance, noting that strategies are frequently designed with the availability of abroad players in mind.
The franchisees did, however, make it clear that they have nothing against withdrawals made for justifiable causes, such as urgent family problems, overseas obligations, or injuries. They expressed their annoyance at situations in which players, having signed at base price, withdraw without citing any of these legitimate reasons.
The teams also expressed concern regarding well-known foreign players missing out on major auctions during the previous cycles (2018–24) but registering for smaller auctions in an effort to draw in larger bids.
The Australian team of Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc fetched enormous sums at the mini-auction staged in December of last year. Sunrisers Hyderabad paid a substantial amount of Rs 20.50 Crore to acquire Cummins, while Kolkata Knight Riders paid an astounding Rs 24.75 Crore to acquire Starc.
Due to this discrepancy, the franchises have demanded that all well-known foreign players sign up for the mega auctions. If they don’t sell, they can enter the mini-auction the next season.
Get the latest cricket news here, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more such updates.
