Sunil Gavaskar has expressed his desire for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to implement stricter rules and punishments for overseas players who withdraw from the Indian Premier League (IPL) after being picked in the auction. This comes after England opener Ben Duckett pulled out of the IPL 2026 edition just days before the tournament, citing a focus on his international career. Duckett’s decision has led to him being banned from the IPL for the next two years.
Gavaskar believes that the current two-year ban punishment is ineffective in preventing last-minute withdrawals and suggests that the BCCI needs to come up with harsher consequences. He emphasized the need for penalties that have a real-time impact on players, similar to slow over-rate penalties during matches. Gavaskar also criticized Australian pace trio Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, and Pat Cummins for missing initial IPL games due to workload management.
While Gavaskar acknowledges that finding the right punishment is challenging, he believes that the BCCI must address this issue to ensure player accountability. The former India captain urges the BCCI to devise penalties that will deter players from withdrawing from the IPL in the future.
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