IPL 2024: Full Season or Forget It, Ex-India Pacer Blasts Players for Early IPL Exits

With the players selected for England's T20 World Cup squad pulling out midway through the ongoing Indian Premier League 2024, a former Indian cricketer has expressed his frustration with the cricketers being selected for the auction, opting to leave their respective franchises for various reasons. With many teams spending varying amounts of money to acquire their talent, it throws off the team's plans when players, especially seniors, have to choose between playing for their franchise or the IPL.

For Rajasthan Royals, Jos Buttler walked out of the squad as he is England's white-ball skipper and will lead the defending champions in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 to be held in West Indies and United States of America. Among other sides, Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore will suffer big losses with the departure of Phil Salt and Will Jacks from their respective squads due to national duties. Both have been key in their respective sides as the tournament moves towards the business end.
 

Either be available for full season or don’t come!

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) May 15, 2024

Reacting to the news of various players leaving their franchise sides in the dust, Irfan Pathan put up a fiery post on his official handle on X where he said, "Either be available for the entire season or don't come!" Chennai Super Kings also suffered a major loss with their key fast bowler, Mustafizur Rahman also ruled out mid-season due to T20 World Cup preparations for Bangladesh. However, the respective sides have the option of signing a replacement by bringing in Richard Gleeson to replace Devon Conway who was ruled out through injury. Plus the impact player rule also allows them to plug that gap.

It remains to be seen whether the tournament organizers will ensure that any measures are taken to avoid such instances. However, the current situation suggests that considering the World Cup is approaching it is only natural that players prefer to play for their national sides rather than their franchises.