Another Indian Premier League (IPL) season is around the corner, and another unwanted deja vu continues before the tournament as overseas players have started to deem themselves unavailable.
IPL 2024 is set to start from March 22, and we have already witnessed a number of English players marking themselves unavailable citing personal reasons. Although any player’s personal distress must be respected, but a serial record of withdrawing from the competition can’t be taken lightly.
It has happened in the past, and it is happening this year as well. First, it was Kolkata Knight Riders’ Jason Roy who withdrew from the IPL for fatigue as he wanted to spend time with family. Now the latest to the list is Harry Brook, another English player who has opted out of IPL. Another KKR player Gus Atkinson also withdrew from IPL to manage workload.
Delhi Capitals bought Brook for Rs 4 crore and the franchise has demanded an intervention from BCCI, which is absolutely right from their point of view.
Jason Roy Withdraws for the 3rd Time
This is the third time Jason Roy has withdrawn his name from IPL after getting picked in the auction. He did the same for Delhi Capitals and Gujarat Titans as well in the past years. Now what does it imply? It implies utter disrespect to the tournament.
These players play T20 franchise leagues around the globe, and must possess a sense of their mental or physical fatigue before the start of the season. It is unfair to the league or the franchise if a player suddenly makes himself unavailable just a couple of weeks from the start of the season.
IPL Player Withdrawal: Why bother to register for Auction?
Now the simple question is, if a player is unsure about his participation in the biggest franchise league in the world, why even bother to register yourself in the auction?
A lot of investment and thought processes take place when a franchise buys a player in an auction. With these sudden ‘workload management’ and ‘personal reasons’, the money and the entire planning of those teams get disoriented, as they are required to start over and plan again to fill the void.
Concerning all the issues of a player, this thing can’t continue every year. Yes, something can happen to a player on a certain year, but repeated withdrawals must be taken care of.
BCCI Must Take a Step to Stop these Player Withdrawals?
To be honest, it is high time that BCCI takes a step to curb this issue. The players can’t take things for granted and excuse themselves a couple of weeks from the start.
BCCI must make sure all players who are registering are committed to play the season if they are bought. A physical injury or extreme mental or personal distress needs prompt attention, but just for the sake of workload management and being away from the family for a couple of months, a player can’t jeopardize the planning of a team, nobody has the right to do so.
BCCI may ban players without proper reason
If a player fails to show any concrete reason for their withdrawal, BCCI may need to ban them for a subsequent season/seasons.
Also, if any player takes part any different franchise league subsequently after the IPL, BCCI can go for a thorough enquiry and decide on the player accordingly.
Franchises must be given the Authority
The proper show cause has to be provided to the respective franchises, as they are the ones who hurt the most. If a player is taking off for a season without any concrete reason, they must be accountable to their respective franchises.
Sauradeep Ash Mykhel
source: mykhel.com