Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar has criticized England players’ decision to leave the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) for the T20I series against Pakistan.
He also demanded the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) take action and penalise the players for pulling off from the playoff stages of the IPL.
“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.”
England’s Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, and Liam Livingstone are representing Punjab Kings in the IPL, while Will Jacks and Reece Topley are playing for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
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Jos Buttler is representing Rajasthan Royals, Phil Salt is playing for Kolkata Knight Riders and Moeen Ali is with Chennai Super Kings.
England announced a 15-member squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 and the four-match T20I series against Pakistan.
They announced that the players who are participating in the IPL will come back to the country to play series against Pakistan.
“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,” ECB said in the press release.
England squad for Pakistan series and T20 World Cup
Jos Buttler (c), Phil Salt, Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Duckett, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali (vc), Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Tom Hartley, Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Reece Topley
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