'I think it all boils down to jealousy' - Sunil Gavaskar slams people for questioning the IPL's credentials

After lots of discussions and rounds of planning, the 13th season of the most-awaited Indian Premier League (IPL) is commencing on September 19 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Players have landed in the Gulf country and will hit the grounds with full vigour post their mandatory quarantine period. In the meantime, former Indian skipper Sunil Gavaskar draws attention to another aspect of IPL, which is criticism.

Since the inception of the fancy league, it has been the centre of criticism due to various topics. While some believe that IPL takes the soul of the game, and doesn’t serve the very purpose of cricket, others accuse it of having too much glitz and glamour. Gavaskar believes it’s a ‘soft target’ for people to hit, and that’s why criticism has been falling heavily on it. The legend is of the opinion that people have no right to accuse the league.

Speaking to India Today’s Boria Majumdar, the batsman said, “They [the critics] only see the money aspect that is there in the IPL. They don’t look at what the IPL does. I think it all boils down to jealousy. Only those who do not benefit from it, do not get anything from the IPL criticize it.”

IPL has become an entire cottage industry for people : Gavaskar

Further backing up the league, the commentator said IPL has become a ‘cottage industry’ for people. The veteran said that there are a number of small-scale workers like painters, small jersey sellers and many others, whose family survive because of the tournament.

“There are so many people whose livelihoods are there because of the IPL. It can be the guys who are at the grounds who paint people’s faces, people who are making those shirts that are sold outside the stadiums just before a match, or the vendors who have food stalls at the stadium. There is an entire cottage industry around the IPL,” Gavaskar mentioned

Slamming people who leave no stone unturned in criticising the league, Gavaskar concluded, “An argument people opposed to the IPL give is, we know Indian cricket and we are thinking of the good of Indian cricket. Oh, I see, so you are the only ones who are going to be sitting in judgment and telling us what is good for Indian cricket. Of course, not.”