IPL 2026 Auction: Sunil Gavaskar hits out, says some players aren’t worth a moment

IPL 2026 Auction: The mini-auction for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 is scheduled to take place on December 16 in Abu Dhabi. All teams have begun their preparations for this. Players have also registered their names for the auction. Several players have withdrawn their names before the auction began this season.

IPL 2026 Auction: The mini-auction for the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 is scheduled to take place on December 16 in Abu Dhabi. All teams have begun their preparations for this event. Players have also registered their names for the auction. Several players have withdrawn their names before the auction began this season. Meanwhile, some players have also stated that they will not be available for the entire season.

Among such players is Australian wicketkeeper-batsman Josh Inglis. Inglis was part of Punjab Kings last season. Punjab had released him before the auction. He has registered himself for the auction at a base price of 2 crore. However, he has stated before the auction that he will not be available for the entire season. In fact, Inglis will not be available for the entire season due to his wedding. Former Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar has now expressed his displeasure over this decision by the players.

'If there's no respect for the IPL, they shouldn't be in the auction'

Gavaskar, speaking about players who are unavailable for the entire season, said that there are some players who have made themselves available for the IPL for a limited time. If these players do not have respect for the IPL, then they should not be in the auction at all. In his column for 'Mid-Day', he wrote, "If something is more important to a player than the IPL, other than national interest, then the auction should not waste even a second on such players. The IPL is the biggest cricket league in the world, and anyone who takes it lightly should not be considered."

Salary cap for uncapped players

According to Gavaskar, there should also be a salary cap for uncapped players. He said that players who have performed well for India, who were sold at the base price initially, have now become great for India. However, the trend has changed in the last few years. New faces emerge and attract huge bids. Then they disappear after one or two seasons. Gavaskar said, "Some young players come and take huge amounts for just 16 days of cricket in the auction, which is many times more than the Ranji Trophy salary. Many of these players don't even get a chance and disappear after one or two seasons. We should learn some lessons from all this."