'Be Available For Full Season, or Don't Come': Ex-IND Pacer's Scathing Take on Players' Late Exit From IPL 2024

With the players selected for England’s T20 World Cup squad making their exit midway through the ongoing Indian Premier League 2024, a former Indian cricketer has revealed his frustration with cricketers despite being picked for the auctions, choosing to leave their respective franchise for various reasons.

With many teams shelling out various amounts of money to acquire the talents that they have scouted, it throws the team’s plans out the door when players especially the senior lot have to choose between playing for their franchise or IPL.

For the Rajasthan Royals, Jos Buttler made his exit from the squad as he is the skipper for England’s white-ball skipper and will lead the defending champions to the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 being held in the West Indies and the United States of America.

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Among other sides, the Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bengaluru will suffer major losses with Phil Salt and Will Jacks departing their respective squads due to national duties. The two have been pivotal in their respective sides as the tournament heads into the business end.

Reacting to the news of various players leaving their franchise sides in the dust, Irfan Pathan had a fiery post on his official handle on X where he said, “Either be available for full season or don’t come!”

The Chennai Super Kings also suffered a major loss with their key pacer, Mustafizur Rahman also exiting mid-season due to the T20 World Cup prep for Bangladesh.

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The respective sides however have the option of signing replacements as CSK did by bringing in Richard Gleeson who was brought in for Devon Conway who was ruled out due to injury. Plus the impact player rule also allows them to plug in that gap.

It is yet to be seen whether the tournament organisers will ensure any steps are taken to avoid such instances. Still, the current situation indicates that it is only natural for the players to opt to play for their national sides rather than their franchises considering that a World Cup is coming around the corner.