The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is planning to introduce a policy that would restrict the players from pulling out of the Indian Premier League without a valid reason. The decision was taken after multiple franchises raised their concerns regarding this matter. At the IPL Governing Council meeting that was held last week, the members discussed the question of how to stop the tendency of players to withdraw from the IPL, after being acquired for a nominal sum at the auction.
“The GC has a commitment towards the franchises who are the important stakeholders of the league. They bid for a player after a lot of planning. Their calculations go haywire if a player pulls out, that too for flimsy reasons,” a GC member was quoted by Cricbuzz.“There will not be a sweeping policy that everyone who has pulled out of the IPL will be prevented for a certain number of years. It will be on a case-by-case basis and some research will be done before action is initiated. What if the reason is genuine,” a source in the know said. Players usually tend to pull out of the tournament due to injury or commitment to national duties, but recently there have been cases where the players have quoted various reasons regarding their exit. Before the start of IPL 2022, Jason Roy opted out saying he wanted to work on his game and spend time with his family.
“I feel it is only right that I spend some quality time with my family. As well as spending time on myself and my game over the next couple of months, leading into a very busy year,” Roy had said before pulling out of IPL. He was not the only one. There were other players as well who cited similar reasons before they pulled out after the auction. Player pull-outs are not new in the IPL. Mitchell Starc had done it a few times in the past, after being picked by Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders in different auctions. The BCCI has taken into account that the Australia fast bowler may have been compelled to withdraw by his board. In such situations, the IPL GC noted that the player could have little choice. For the record, Starc did not register for the 2022 auction citing bubble fatigue.
