Sunil Gavaskar Blasts Overseas Stars Pulling Out Of IPL 2026, Asks Owners To...

Last Updated:March 22, 2026, 19:54 IST

Sunil Gavaskar slams overseas IPL 2026 absentees like Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Lockie Ferguson, urging franchises to get tough on such players.

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has slammed the overseas players who have pulled out of the initial stages of IPL 2026. He said they are taking ‘the Indian way and hospitality’ for granted, urging owners of all franchises to ‘get tough’ and drop them, or see them continue to ruin their planning.

Three Australian quicks — Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins, and Mitchell Starc — will not be available for the first three games of the season due to fitness issues. A cricket.com.au report on Sunday (March 22) suggested that Cricket Australia (CA) had ‘held back’ the trio due to their tough schedule. Punjab Kings’ Lockie Ferguson will also miss a few games to spend some time at home with his newborn son.

“There is also the usual taking the franchise for granted issue with some overseas players, who are not going to be available for non-injury and personal reasons," Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar. “The owners of the franchises go out of their way to accommodate their players often paying for families to come and spend time with the players at no cost to the millionaire players, mind you. It’s the Indian way and hospitality, which often is misunderstood as a right by some and who then try and take advantage of the situation," he added.

“We are already hearing about some players who will not be available for a variety of reasons, none of which were informed before they were selected by the franchise. Unless franchise owners start to get tough and drop these players, they will find themselves being hampered in their efforts to win the title. All the planning in forming the squad which they believe can help them win, goes out of the window when players decide to come whenever they want," the pundit said.

Gavaskar is not the first to raise the question. Aakash Chopra blasted Ferguson recently while Ravichandran Ashwin even advised the Kolkata Knight Riders to cut some money from Cameron Green’s contract if he can’t bowl in the season, as is being reported.

News cricket Sunil Gavaskar Blasts Overseas Stars Pulling Out Of IPL 2026, Asks Owners To...

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