When one looks back at the first few seasons of the Indian Premier League, one recalls a who’s who of international cricket on display. The first edition in 2008 even featured top Pakistani players and the England players, conspicuous by their absence in the first couple of years, soon became a regular feature.
Cut to 2026, and the overseas contingent at most teams gives an underwhelming feeling. There may be quality in the largely unknown quantity on show, as young Aussie Cooper Connolly and Kiwi pacer Jacob Duffy showed on their IPL debuts, and the likes of Lungi Ngidi can be expected to do a job, but none of the foreign stars have the aura of a Shane Warne, Kevin Pietersen, Chris Gayle, Kumar Sangakkara or AB de Villiers.
It doesn’t help that the packed international calendar and off-field issues have ensured that the best overseas players haven’t always featured in the league. So, while Pakistani players were persona non grata after the inaugural edition due to the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks and the tense bilateral ties between the two countries, Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman couldn’t participate even after being picked in the auction (a development that IPL chairman Arun Dhumal termed ‘unfortunate’).
But the ongoing edition has seen players pulling out after being picked (Ben Duckett), limiting their involvement due to injury or different priorities (Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood), not employing all facets of their game (Cameron Green), or just not finding the tournament worth their while (Adam Zampa).
It has prompted some to argue that the franchises that have acquired them were being taken for a ride and were not getting full value for their money. There have also been calls to cut a proportionate amount from their contract amount as it hampers the team’s balance and planning for the season.
This issue came to the spotlight when Kolkata Knight Riders captain Ajinkya Rahane responded to a query about why Green, recognized as an all-rounder, didn’t bowl in their opening loss against Mumbai Indians by saying that the question should be put to Cricket Australia.
The latter responded by saying that KKR were kept in the loop about the restrictions on Green’s bowling. The cricketer suffers from a chronic kidney disease and has to be managed appropriately. He hadn’t bowled much for Australia either in recent times.
Priorities set
The delayed involvement of the Aussie Big 3 – Starc, Hazlewood and Cummins – is a function of them prioritising Tests, and international cricket in general, over their IPL gig. Australia has a loaded calendar over the next 18 months or so and the veteran pace trio want to be in the best shape for that.
It’s a similar case with England batsman Ben Duckett, who pulled out of the IPL a few days before it commenced to be at his best for national duty after a horror Ashes series. As a result, the left-hander has been blacklisted, like England’s white-ball captain Harry Brook, and won’t be eligible for the IPL auction before the 2029 edition of the league.
The IPL may be the most lucrative cricketing assignment but these players have prioritised turning up for their country, which got them on the IPL radar in the first place. The IPL is a strenuous tournament, taking its toll on the mind and body, which may not leave players at their freshest for subsequent series or tournaments.
Zampa’s reason for giving the IPL a miss is an interesting one. Arguably one of the best white-ball spinners in contemporary cricket – having a 50-over and 20-over world title on his resume – he argued that his skills didn’t receive adequate monetary compensation, and with the IPL going on for much longer than any other domestic league, he chose to play in the Pakistan Super League instead.
It’s called the Indian Premier League for a reason and the main attractions remain the home players – especially as the Men in Blue have won back-to-back T20 World Cups. However big a foreign player is, he will get second billing after the Indian superstars. That’s why MS Dhoni continues to be the darling of the broadcasters and marketing men even though he went past his sell-by date a long time ago.
Only four foreigners are allowed in a team – including the Impact Player – and it’s the Indian players who are expected to make the big difference now. It’s not as if Green’s bowling in the game against Mumbai Indians, or in KKR’s next match against Sunrisers Hyderabad, would have made a whole lot of difference. He would have been just another option at Rahane’s disposal.
Opportunities galore
Cummins even skipped the T20 World Cup and said that he would have pushed his body had it been an important Test series. It says all that one needs to know about his priorities. He played just one of the five Ashes Tests while Hazlewood missed the series altogether. In their absence, Starc had to take a lot more load as the leader of the bowling attack and after five games in a compressed period, reckoned he needed some extra time to recharge his batteries before joining Delhi Capitals.
The IPL is an annual cricketing extravaganza and is not dependent on one or more players, especially if they are foreigners to garner eyeballs. India is at the forefront of T20 cricket, with a long list of quality players pushing the incumbents for a spot in the national side. Leave aside Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma and the heroes of the World Cup win, the likes of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi are match-winners for their respective sides.
In such a scenario, it’s a bit far-fetched to attribute the poor performance of a team to the absence of a foreign player. If anything, it provides an opportunity to a home-grown player to catch the eye.
KKR’s bowling attack conceded the two scores in excess of 220 in their first two games – once bowling first and once second. Green was never going to be a frontline bowling option, who could make a match-winning difference.
Sunrisers Hyderabad, Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Capitals need to stay in the reckoning before their major overseas signings enter the fray. Hazlewood was a key reason for RCB winning its first IPL title last year while Cummins has been an inspirational leader for his franchise. Starc won the title for KKR a couple of years ago, but if their teams are over-reliant on them, it doesn’t shed a positive light on the team management and their performance at the auction.