There needs to be a capping on how much a domestic cricketer can get in IPL: Deep Dasgupta

Former Indian cricketer Deep Dasgupta has presumed that there should be an apex point designated for the amount a domestic player can earn through the Indian Premier League (IPL). He added that the excess amount turned over in the auction should be allocated among the first-class cricketers.

An aggressive opening batsman, Dasgupta played for Bengal, where he took over as captain following the resignation of Sourav Ganguly. He played in 8 Tests and 5 ODIs between 2001 and 2006 as the Indian team’s wicketkeeper-batsman. Now a renowned commentator, Deep Dasgupta brings interesting commentary to the game.

During an interview on Sports Tiger’s YouTube show ‘Off the Field‘, Deep put forth his views on Indian players being allowed to play overseas leagues, and the discrepancy of pay between the IPL and first-class cricket. Suresh Raina recently made a request to the BCCI that the board can get together with ICC or with franchises and allow its players to play the overseas T20 leagues.

Designating his response regarding the same, the commentator acknowledged by saying that the players should be allowed to do so but with certain restrictions. “My point is that you should let them go. But there have to be few caveats attached to it. One of them according to me is that anyone who has played international cricket in the last two years or is a contracted player, they shouldn’t be allowed,” he said.

As the players are supposed to play domestic cricket when they are not on international duty, the former wicketkeeper mentioned that none of the contracted Indian players should be allowed to be a part of these leagues. “Because they are contracted and are in the India scene, you want them to play domestic cricket when they are not playing international cricket. That’s my point of view.”

Deep Dasgupta on the auction limits for a domestic player

Dasgupta believes that there should be an upper limit on how much a domestic cricketer can get in the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction. He opines that there should be some balance between the pays of a first-class cricketer and somebody who plays in the cash-rich league.

“Secondly, from an IPL perspective, there needs to be a capping on how much a domestic cricketer can get. Because the other important aspect you need to think about is that there has to be some parity between a first-class cricketer, who plays a very important aspect in the 3-4 months of domestic cricket, his payment and somebody who plays IPL and plays T20 outside India.”

“The excess amount in the bidding, lets say you put the limit at 1.5 CR, goes in a kitty which is later distributed among the first-class cricketers,” he continued by saying that the additional amount paid in the auction should be distributed among the first-class cricketers.

The 43-year-old concluded by speaking in favor of the senior cricketers who are not in the national contracts to be allowed to play overseas, as this, in turn, motivates the youngsters to shift their attention from T20 cricket and excel in first-class cricket. “That allows a lot of senior cricketers, who are still out there playing cricket seriously, to explore other shores but you also encourage the younger lot to not only think about T20 cricket but also first-class cricket.”

Deep Dasgupta played 83 first-class matches, primarily for Bengal, scoring 3806 runs and reckoning 212 dismissals. He has been one of the successful captains the Bengal Ranji team has ever had, being only the second captain after Sambaran Banerjee to lead the team to two Ranji Trophy finals in consecutive seasons (06-07).

Watch the video