NEW DELHI: Sunil Gavaskar has made a scathing attack on the English Cricket Board (ECB) for asking their T20 World Cup-bound players to return home early. Gavaskar has suggested that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) must “penalise players” and the “boards.”

“I am all for players choosing country before anything else but having assured various franchises about their availability for the full season, if they pull out now, it will be letting down the franchises which probably pay them more money in one IPL season which they don’t earn in a few seasons with their country,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Mid-day.

“The franchises should not only be allowed to deduct a substantial amount from the fee that the player was bought for, but also not give the Board, to which the player belongs, the stated 10 per cent commission of the fee that each player gets.

“If the Board has gone back on its assurance they need to be penalised too. By the way, this 10 per cent commission to the Boards happens only in the IPL and nowhere else. Does the BCCI get any thanks for its generosity? Ha ha ha. No way.”

What does the ECB say?

A couple of weeks ago, the ECB in a statement asked selected players to return to national duty for the home series against Pakistan, starting on May 22.

“Selected players, currently playing in the Indian Premier League, will return in time for the series against Pakistan, which gets underway at Headingley on Wednesday 22 May 2024,” the ECB said in a statement.

England’s team managing director, Rob Key, stated that captain Jos Buttler advocated for the English players to withdraw from the IPL playoffs.

Apart from Buttler, Phil Salt, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, Will Jacks and Reece Topley are the England players part of the ICC event squad.

Royals fine with Jos leaving

Last week ahead of their game against Delhi Capitals, Royals bowling coach Shane Bond had said that Jos Buttler’s absence would be a big loss for the side.

“Jos’ absence in the playoffs will be a big loss. He is a terrific player. When I was with Mumbai Indians, he went in the middle of the tournament but we still won the tournament. But that’s part and parcel of the game. We miss some players due to injury and some due to playoffs. KKR will lose Phil Salt and other teams will also lose players,” Bond had said.

After their match when asked a similar question, Kumar Sangakkara, Rajasthan Royals Director of Cricket has played down the question of the impact their team will face with Jos Buttler returning home before the playoffs.

“We are not the only team, who will suffer. We have got the backup ready when Jos will go,” Kumar Sangakkara had told reporters.

Agencies

Agencies