'Look after your cricket interests, don’t interfere in ours' - Sunil Gavaskar hits back at IPL critics

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has bashed England and Australia for criticising the Indian Premier League (IPL) for disrupting the cricketing calendar. The cricketing great reckoned that both the powerhouses should look at the state of affairs in their own countries first and advised them not to “interfere” in Indian cricket.

The Indian legend’s remarks come in the wake of the comments made by ex-Australian wicketkeeper-batter Adam Gilchrist, who lamented the increasing influence of IPL in the global arena. Gilchrist had labelled the global expansion of the cash-rich league as a “little bit dangerous“, as he was concerned by IPL’s increasing monopoly.

Gavaskar was amused by the reaction of the “old powers” as they started squirming after the IPL expanded its wings to the South African T20 league and the UAE T20 league.

“It’s been amusing to read that the Indian Premier League is once again seen as a disruptor of the cricketing calendar of other international teams. The moment the news about the South African T20 league and the UAE T20 league came out, the ‘old powers’ started squirming and got their apologists to have a go at the IPL. By all means, look after your cricket interests but hey, please don’t interfere in ours and tell us what to do,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for Sportstar.

The former Indian skipper reasoned that although the Big Bash League has got its own window free from international cricket, the Australian and English boards are wary of losing some of their star players to the South African and UAE’S ILT20 league, which commence around the same time and are offering far more lucrative deals to the players.

“The Australians, too, have scheduled their Big Bash when their contracted players will be available to play. But it’s worrying them that the UAE and the South African T20 leagues are scheduled around the same time, and there’s the danger of some of their players opting to play there instead of the Big Bash,” Gavaskar added.