Calling the availability of overseas players in the Indian Premier League (IPL) a sensitive issue, Punjab Kings co-owner Mohit Burman said that the BCCI, foreign boards and other stakeholders can do more to ensure that international players remain available for the entire duration of the world’s biggest T20 league.
The BCCI has a two-year ban in place for foreign players who withdraw from the IPL after being bought at the auction, with an exception for injured cricketers.
However, the availability of overseas players, especially star names, continues to be a problem. For instance, Mitchell Starc was cleared by Cricket Australia to play only in the second half of this season, and by then Delhi Capitals’ fate in the tournament was more or less sealed.
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Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood were also unavailable for their respective IPL teams from the start of the tournament due to niggles.
Speaking to PTI, Burman was candid on the delicate subject.
“It is a sensitive issue because international cricket calendars are extremely crowded, and players also have commitments to their national boards. But ideally, when a player commits to a franchise, there should be as much clarity as possible around availability.
“From a franchise perspective, planning becomes difficult when key players are unavailable for significant portions of the tournament despite being major auction investments.
“Fans also expect to see marquee players from the start of the season. At the same time, solutions have to come through collaboration rather than confrontation. The BCCI, franchises, players and international boards all need to align schedules better and create clearer commitments,” said Burman, who owns a 48 percent share of the Punjab franchise.
‘Want Players To Be Available’
Earlier this month, Delhi Capitals head coach Hemang Badani expressed his frustration over player availability, especially when the player in question is a trump card like Starc.
“Ideally, I would want my players to be available to me from day one. But if there are certain things decided by associations and governing bodies, there’s very little that we can do,” he said.
“Because if Cricket Australia does not release him, which was also the case with Hazlewood, also the case with Pat Cummins, there’s little a coach or any franchise can do about that. Hopefully, we have a solution to it in the future,” Badani added.
(With inputs from Agencies)
