Gavaskar gives hard-hitting response to Gilchrist’s plea of allowing Indian players to play in foreign leagues

The legendary Sunil Gavaskar had recently responded to Adam Gilchrist’s plea of allowing Indian players to take part in the overseas cricket leagues. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has a strict stance when it comes to Indian players taking part in overseas leagues as active players are barred from doing so.

Only retired players can venture overseas and play T20 leagues around the globe. While the Indian Premier League (IPL) features players from across the globe excluding only Pakistan, Indian stars are not allowed to play overseas leagues like the Big Bash League, The Hundred and the Caribbean Premier League among others.

Former Australia wicket-keeper batter Adam Gilchrist had recently urged the BCCI to allow the Indian players to take part in overseas leagues. Gilchrist, who is regarded as one of the best wicket-keeper batters of all time, had also expressed his concerns over IPL teams buying franchises in different T20 leagues around the globe.

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Gavaskar issued a hard-hitting response to Gilchrist’s plea suggesting there is nothing wrong with some former overseas players wanting Indian players in their leagues to increase sponsorships and fan base but pointed out how  BCCI’s decision to protect its cricket by not allowing Indians to take part in other leagues around the world is criticised.

“Some overseas former players have said that the Indian players should be allowed to play the Big Bash or the Hundred. Basically, they want their leagues to have more sponsorship etc. They are concerned about their cricket, which is totally understandable. But when Indian cricket looks to protect its cricket by ensuring that their players stay fresh for their matches and thus restricting them from playing overseas, that is not acceptable to the guys from the ‘old powers,’ Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar.

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The former India captain also slammed the hypocrisy when it comes to the recruitment of the coaching staff in overseas leagues pointing out how IPL at one point had a host of support staff from Australia across various teams but when it comes to overseas leagues like BBL and The Hundred, the sight of an Indian in the coaching setup is a rarity.

“They are talking only about the Indian players being made available for their country’s leagues but not the support staff or others who also can do a wonderful job as the cricketing world has found out over the last half dozen years or so. The IPL, for a while, ran the danger of being called the Australian league with not just the Aussie players dominating the composition of the teams but the coaches and support staff too. It’s never a two-way street for the ‘old powers’ of cricket,” he asserted.