Gavaskar emphasized how the IPL has encouraged cricket talent in India since 2008.
Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar has emphasized how the Indian Premier League (IPL) has encouraged cricket talent in India since 2008, while also highlighting the pay disparity between IPL and domestic cricket.
In his column for Sportstar, Gavaskar discussed how the cash-rich league has produced stars like Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Mohammed Siraj, among others and enabled domestic players to compete alongside international talent.
In the ongoing IPL, the 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi made his debut after being acquired by Rajasthan Royals for Rs 1.1 crore during the mega auction last November.
"What this IPL has shown is that once again, one performance can catapult an unknown player into the reckoning for higher honours. This is in stark contrast to performance in the National Championship, the Ranji Trophy, where top-notch deeds do not even get headlines," Gavaskar wrote.
The former Indian captain further stated that one good season of IPL could be so fruitful for a player that even an entire Ranji Trophy career could not do.
"There are many instances of these one-match performers being out of the game in a season or two, but one season of IPL often gives them much more than a whole career in the Ranji Trophy. While this imbalance can be attributed to the appeal of the IPL to the masses and thereby the huge broadcast and sponsorship rights, it does leave a sour taste in the mouth, especially for those who play almost thrice the number of cricketing games as in the IPL," said Gavaskar.
The 75-year-old also suggested solution on how this stark pay difference could be minimised.
"As if to rub salt into the wounds, at the end of the Ranji and domestic Vijay Hazare, Syed Mushtaq Ali seasons, those who have played the whole season do not even make the lowest base price of Rs 30 lakh of an uncapped IPL player. This imbalance can be reduced to a great extent if other associations, like Mumbai, match the BCCI's payments to Ranji players," he remarked.