"Maybe a player should be restricted to the IPL and 2 other leagues" - Gavaskar laments 'casual' attitude of international stars in MLC 

Legendary Indian batter Sunil Gavaskar has spoken about the Major League Cricket's (MLC) quality drop following the culmination of the second edition recently. The Washington Freedom were crowned champions after defeating the San Francisco Unicorns at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Texas, on Sunday, July 28.

Gavaskar was present in the United States of America (USA) and was part of the broadcast team that covered the tournament. However, he was left disappointed with the quality of the event despite the influx of several reputed international players.

The former Indian skipper also lamented the poor crowd turnout compared to the inaugural edition and recommended that players' franchise T20 league participation should be restricted to ensure high-quality cricket.

"For some reason, the crowds were not quite there this time around. Maybe it was viewer fatigue because of the ICC T20 World Cup preceding the tournament. The cricket was also not of the same high quality as last year. Maybe, because there were too many ordinary players there. The international stars who play in various T20 leagues around the world also seemed a little casual," Gavaskar wrote in his column for The Sportstar.

"This makes one feel that while nobody wants the players’ source of income to be curbed, it is worth considering if players should be restricted to playing in, say, three leagues. The whole world agrees that the IPL is the best and most competitive tournament because of the talent pool it attracts from all over the world. So maybe a player should be restricted to the IPL and two other leagues of his choice," he opined

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) currently has a rule that only allows players to partake in a fixed number of overseas leagues apart from the Pakistan Super League (PSL).

The off-season witnessed several huge names flocking towards the MLC, including the Australian trio of Steve Smith, Travis Head, and Pat Cummins.

"It is also a bit strange to see players who play for one franchise in the IPL playing for the team of another rival IPL franchise in the other leagues" - Sunil Gavaskar

Gavaskar also noted the lack of uniformity between the leagues as a large number of players represent multiple franchises of different ownerships.

With the Major League Cricket having as many as three franchises backed by IPL franchise owners, there are instances of players playing for their sister teams. However, it has also led to a predicament where some players have to represent their rivals.

"It is also a bit strange to see players who play for one franchise in the IPL playing for the team of another rival IPL franchise in the other leagues. It is perfectly understandable if the franchise they play for in the IPL does not have a team in the various countries’ T20 leagues, but it does seem odd to see them wearing the jersey of a rival IPL team franchise in the other leagues," Gavaskar added in his column.

For instance, Marcus Stoinis scored a hundred against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the 2024 Indian Premier League (IPL) at Chepauk. But three months later, he represented CSK's sister franchise, the Texas Super Kings (TSK), in the Major League Cricket (MLC).