Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has criticized the scouting systems of some Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises. He questions how teams select and invest in players during the auction. Gavaskar argues that many players are chosen based on their performances in lower-level tournaments, which may not hold up when they compete at the higher standards of the IPL.
Over the years, the IPL has been essential in finding and developing talent, helping players like Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Rinku Singh, and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi make their mark. However, Gavaskar believes that not every player with a lucrative contract can perform consistently against top competition.
After IPL 2026, he noted that strong performances in state and city-based T20 leagues do not always lead to success in the IPL, where the competition level is much higher.
“Many big hitters from various state and city leagues were exposed when facing International quality bowling in the IPL,” Gavaskar stated in his column for Sportstar.
“In the state and city leagues, the standards of batting and bowling are much lower. Unless scouts have a keen eye and are not influenced by player agents, franchises may end up wasting money on players based on these performances,” he added.
The former India opener also criticized franchises for investing heavily in players who often do not live up to their price tags, with many spending most of the season on the bench. He believes this reflects poorly on the judgment of scouts and team advisers involved in selecting players.
“When a franchise picks a player for crores but only plays him a couple of times, it indicates that their scouts and advisers have made a mistake. The IPL quickly reveals when a player is overrated,” he explained.
“There are players who have one good performance in a match that often doesn’t matter much, and they get picked again based on that. One could form multiple teams with such one-match performers who keep getting selected in the IPL,” he added.
IPL 2026 was exciting, with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) successfully defending their title by defeating the Gujarat Titans in the final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on May 31.