Sunil Gavaskar was the commentator in the recently concluded Major League Cricket(MLC). The 2nd edition of the league ended with the Washington Freedom defeating the San Francisco Unicorns on July 29.
The league is expected to increase the popularity of cricket in the USA and also raise the quality of their national cricket team. But the second edition was a glow-down compared to the first one, and Sunil Gavaskar isn’t happy with that.
Gavaskar, who is also a former legendary cricketer, felt that the cricket this time lacked quality. The decrease in the crowd might also be due to “fatigue as the USA hosted the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 along with the West Indies.” Gavaskar was talking to The Sportster.
“The crowd was not there this time. Maybe it was due to fatigue, as the USA hosted the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 along with the West Indies. The cricket also lacked quality. There were ordinary players in the franchises. The international stars were also a little casual,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for The Sportstar.
Sunil Gavaskar Wants Players in 2 More Leagues With IPL
Gavaskar also opined that the cricketer ‘should be restricted to three leagues of their choice’.
“Nobody wants the cricketers’ source of income to decrease, but I feel players should be restricted to three leagues of their choice. IPL is the best tournament in the world, and the players should be allowed to choose other T20 tournaments,” he added.
Many of the foreign players are playing in multiple leagues in different countries. This sometimes leads to a situation in which some players sign multiple franchises owned by different owners. It’s a bit odd for the commentator to see players who wear the ‘jersey of a rival IPL franchise in other leagues’.
“Players are playing for one franchise in the IPL and turning up for the rival IPL franchise in the other leagues. It is understandable if the franchise they compete for in the IPL doesn’t have a team in the other T20 leagues, but it is odd to see them wearing the jersey of a rival IPL franchise in other leagues,” he concluded.
The Indian cricketers who are under the BCCI central contract currently are not allowed to play in any other foreign leagues than IPL.
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