IPL 2026: Sunil Gavaskar urges teams to penalise overseas players who arrive late

India cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has urged Indian Premier League (IPL) team owners to impose stricter rules on overseas players who arrive late to the tournament for non-injury reasons.

With IPL 2026 kicking off on March 28, several teams remain uncertain over the arrival dates of their overseas stars. Cricket Australia has confirmed that Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins will miss the start of the tournament as part of workload management.

All three are big-budget buys for their teams with Cummins also being the captain, for Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Hazlewood missed the Ashes and the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, while Cummins, featured in just one match against England and also sat out the T20 World Cup.

Starc, who played throughout the Ashes, has not featured in competitive cricket since January 2026, with Cricket Australia carefully managing his workload ahead of a demanding Test schedule against Bangladesh, New Zealand and India.

Lockie Ferguson will also miss the opening phase of IPL 2026, as the New Zealand fast bowler takes time away to be with his wife and newborn child.

Gavaskar warned that late arrivals from overseas players could unsettle a team’s campaign, stressing that franchise owners must take a firm stance to prevent players from taking advantage.

“Some overseas players tend to take their franchises for granted, being unavailable for reasons other than injuries or personal matters,” Gavaskar wrote in his 'Sportstar' column.

“Team owners often go the extra mile to accommodate them, even covering travel and stay for their families at no cost to these millionaire players. This is part of Indian hospitality, but some players exploit the generosity.

“We are already hearing about a few players who will be unavailable for different reasons, none of which were communicated before they were bought by the franchise. Unless team owners take a firm stance and bench such players, their chances of winning the title could be affected. All the planning that goes into building a squad capable of success can fall apart when players decide to join whenever they feel like it.”

IPL 2026 will start on March 28 with Royal Challengers Bengaluru clashing with Sunrisers Hyderabad at M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Several teams will be missing important players due to injury. Sam Curran won’t feature for Rajasthan Royals, while Akash Deep and Harshit Rana are set to miss out for Kolkata Knight Riders. Meanwhile, Matheesha Pathirana is likely to link up with the three-time champions a few matches into the season.

Stay updated: Get the latest faster by downloading the Gulf News app now - it's completely free. Click here for Apple or here for Android. You can also find it on the Huawei AppGallery.