Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar is of the opinion that easy money in Indian Premier League auction can get into the heads of young players and destabilize their careers at an early stage. As a result, he wants the introduction of a salary cap in the event to keep the uncapped players grounded.
The 72-year-old thinks that the salary for uncapped young players in IPL auction should be restricted to a maximum of INR 1 crore in order to prevent that money from having an adverse impact on their mindset and cricket careers.
His comments arrive just a day before the 2022 mega auction. The eyes of the cricketing world will be peeled on the frantic action that takes place during an auction and several players end up attracting deals that are blown out of proportion. 355 of the 590 players who have registered themselves for the IPL 2022 auction are uncapped and it also includes several promising players from the victorious Indian U19 World Cup side.
Arguing that success at age-level cricket doesn’t necessarily guarantee international success since the difference in standards is immense, Gavaskar mentioned that easy money can get in the players’ heads. The Premier League should introduce a salary cap for these young players in order to avoid that.
“The mega auction will happen over the weekend and some of our Under-19 boys could become crorepatis in a few blinks of the eye. Doing well at the under-19 level doesn’t guarantee success at the IPL or even international level as has been seen over the years. The difference in standards is huge.
he wrote for Mid-day.
Also read 👉 IPL 2022 mega auction preview: nearly 600 players to go under the hammer
“Far too many get carried away and lose focus and are out of the game or seek the mirage of greener-looking pastures. The fair thing would be to put a limit of say Rs 1 crore for uncapped players so that they know that to go further and earn more they have a lot of hard work ahead.
“Easy money has spoilt many a promising talent and that’s something the administrators can prevent by ensuring that an uncapped player remains eager to keep performing year after year and not fall by the wayside as so many have done in the past,”
Gavaskar further observed.
Gavaskar is also a former member of the IPL Governing Council and this isn’t the first time that he has voiced his opinion regarding the imposition of salary cap in the IPL. He had written a letter in 2019 to BCCI president Sourav Ganguly and IPL chairaman Brijesh Patel, asking for the same.
