Archer and Bethell were slammed for prioritizing IPL over England and County championship.
Legendary Indian batter Sunil Gavaskar has taken a fresh dig at Indian Premier League (IPL) bashers after there were comments from England cricketers over Jofra Archer not being picked for the first Test at Lord’s between England and New Zealand.
The player and the officials have both faced criticism for purportedly putting franchise cricket ahead of international duties. Batting icon Sunil Gavaskar responded sharply to those remarks, claiming that it has become a "favourite pastime" to question a player's availability.
Gavaskar also questioned why detractors don't speak out when the BCCI gives each player's board 10% of their compensation to guarantee their participation, which he says is exclusive to the IPL.
“Indian cricket and BCCI bashing is par for the course. But when it comes to revenues, they still have to come to the BCCI because it is Indian cricket and Indian fans that fill their coffers much more than even what their traditional rivalry does,” Gavaskar wrote in Mid-Day.
Additionally, Gavaskar emphasised the "million-plus pounds" that the IPL generates for different cricket boards and asked whether other franchise tournaments make a comparable contribution.
“Cribbing about IPL and their players not being available for their country is another favourite pastime. Not a word though about the 10% their Boards get of the fee of every player from their country,”
“It adds up to a cool million plus pounds every year. Does The Hundred give any percentage to the boards of their overseas players playing in their tournament? No sir. Do the BBL or any other country's T20 leagues give any percentage to the boards of their overseas players? No, sir, again. Only the IPL does. Yet the whining and moaning about BCCI and Indian cricket just goes on and on. Wake up and smell the coffee, guys. Indian cricket is here to stay, no matter how you try to pull it down," Gavaskar wrote.
There was also criticism of Jacob Bethell, who remained on the RCB bench for the majority of the IPL 2026 and had Alastair Cook telling him to leave the IPL mid-way and play English county cricket.