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Gavaskar Urges BCCI to Stop Treating Players as Expendable Assets

Cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar has called on the Board of Control for Cricket in India to reconsider how it manages its players, cautioning against viewing them merely as replaceable resources. The former India captain emphasized that modern cricketers require sustainable working conditions rather than being subjected to relentless demands.

LSN India · 11 September 2026

Sunil Gavaskar, one of India's greatest batsmen, has made a passionate appeal to the BCCI to fundamentally rethink its approach to player management. Speaking on the subject of workload and player welfare, Gavaskar drew an analogy comparing the current treatment of cricketers to expendable commodities, stressing that individuals cannot be treated as interchangeable parts in a machine.

The legendary cricketer's intervention reflects growing concerns within Indian cricket circles about the intensive scheduling and demands placed on players across multiple formats. With the Indian Premier League, domestic competitions, and international matches creating an increasingly congested calendar, the physical and mental toll on athletes has become a subject of significant discussion.

Gavaskar's remarks underscore a broader debate about balancing India's cricket ambitions with player longevity and well-being. The BCCI has faced mounting pressure from various quarters to implement more robust welfare measures and provide players with adequate rest periods between competitions.

The former captain's intervention carries considerable weight given his stature in Indian cricket and his understanding of the pressures elite athletes face. His call for a more humane approach to player management suggests that even legendary figures within the sport believe current practices require substantive reform to ensure sustainable careers and peak performance.