Sunil Gavaskar disappointed with MLC's second edition quality drop

The Washington Freedom emerged victorious, defeating the San Francisco Unicorns at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Texas

PHOTO: AFP

Former Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar has expressed disappointment over the decline in quality at the recently concluded second edition of Major League Cricket (MLC).

The Washington Freedom emerged victorious, defeating the San Francisco Unicorns at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Texas.

Gavaskar, who was part of the broadcast team covering the tournament in the United States, noted a significant drop in the event's quality despite the participation of several renowned international players.

He also observed a lower crowd turnout compared to the inaugural edition and suggested that restrictions on players' participation in multiple franchise T20 leagues might be necessary to maintain high standards of cricket.

"For some reason, the crowds were not quite there this time around. Maybe it was viewer fatigue because of the ICC T20 World Cup preceding the tournament. The cricket was also not of the same high quality as last year. Maybe, because there were too many ordinary players there. The international stars who play in various T20 leagues around the world also seemed a little casual," Gavaskar wrote in his column for The Sportstar.

"This makes one feel that while nobody wants the players’ source of income to be curbed, it is worth considering if players should be restricted to playing in, say, three leagues. The whole world agrees that the IPL is the best and most competitive tournament because of the talent pool it attracts from all over the world. So maybe a player should be restricted to the IPL and two other leagues of his choice," he added.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) currently enforces a rule that limits players to a fixed number of overseas leagues in addition to the Pakistan Super League (PSL).

The off-season saw several high-profile players, including the Australian quartet of Steve Smith, Travis Head, Pat Cummins, and Ricky Ponting, participating in the MLC. Despite this star-studded lineup, the tournament failed to meet expectations, according to Gavaskar.