Sunil Gavaskar, the former Indian batting great, has voiced significant concerns after the second edition of Major League Cricket 2024 (MLC 2024), which saw the Washington Freedom defeat the San Francisco Unicorns in the final at Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas. Gavaskar, who was in the US as part of the broadcast team, observed notable changes and expressed disappointment with the league’s quality, despite the presence of numerous international stars.
Sunil Gavaskar criticizes Major League Cricket 2024 after witnessing a decline in standards and attendance
The former Indian captain noted a substantial drop in the MLC’s standards from its debut season. He observed that the sparse crowd attendance at MLC 2024 starkly contrasted with the vibrant turnout of the inaugural tournament.
Gavaskar has proposed a major revamp to regain the tournament’s prestige, including restricting players’ participation in multiple franchise T20 leagues to ensure a higher standard of competitive cricket and provide top-notch entertainment for fans.
Sunil Gavaskar wrote in his column for The Sportstar: “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.”
Players should be restricted to the IPL and two other leagues: Sunil Gavaskar
Gavaskar suggested that players should be limited to participating in only three T20 leagues in the world to maintain the high standards and competitiveness of the franchise tournaments. He said that IPL is the world’s best league and nobody wants to leave it, so the players must be allowed to play in the other two leagues in the world.
He added, “While nobody wants the players’ source of income to be curbed, I feel it is worth considering if players should be restricted to playing in three leagues of their choice. The IPL is the best and most competitive tournament because of the talent pool it attracts from all over the world. So, the player should be restricted to the IPL and two other leagues of his choice.”
Explaining his point of view, Gavaskar pointed out that players often compete for one IPL franchise while representing a rival IPL team in other T20 leagues. This situation is understandable if the player’s IPL team doesn’t have a team in the other leagues, but it seems strange to see players wearing the jersey of a rival IPL team in these other leagues.
Gavaskar signed off by saying, “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 a jersey of a rival IPL franchise in other leagues.”
