Put India cap before IPL: Gavaskar

With increasing worries that young players getting into the game, might be swayed by the lure of the IPL, Sunil Gavaskar has said that the main aim for a young player ought to be the India cap, and not a spot in an IPL franchisee.

While delivering the Dilip Sardesai memorial lecture in Mumbai, the legendary opener said, "Today, parents are encouraging their children to take up cricket as a career option because of the IPL and the amount of money it provides. But the worrying factor is far too many youngsters see IPL as the be all and end all. The be all and end all of any player should be to get the national cap. That's the way it was in our days. I sometimes get the feeling that is no longer the case. The be all and end all is now to get into the IPL and that's it. Now that is something we have to guard against. There are dangerous signs like of a lot players missing out on domestic cricket ahead of the IPL so that they don't get injured."

Gavaskar, who is a member of the IPL governing council, also advised cricket authorities to guard the youngsters against the unbelievable amount of money being paid to even inexperienced players in the IPL. "The other thing to guard against is players in the age group of 19-22 going the wrong way [because of the money factor]. Younger players get carried away by fame, publicity and success," Gavaskar said.

He also refused to blame the IPL for India's poor show at the ICC World Twenty20. "I don't think IPL can be conceived in any other way," he said. "The home and away concept is so essential to it. This time it was played in South Africa, even there this (concept) worked. Our team got outplayed (in the World T20). I would not look too much into it."

India's batsmen had their weakness against the short ball exposed in England, and in the ongoing ODI series in West Indies, but Gavaskar felt this was not a long-term problem. "There's a lot of cricket (that has) been played where there were not many short balls, and so the balance tends to be on the front foot," he said. "Then when suddenly there are short pitched deliveries, you couldn't adjust to it. I think that's what happened (to the Indian team). I think there need not be too much concern about it."

On the domestic front, the 2009-10 season will not include the Deodhar Trophy, a 50-over competition played between the five zones, as it was scrapped by the BCCI owing to a crammed domestic schedule. Again, Gavaskar said the IPL had nothing to do with the decision. "I don't think its due to the IPL. There is so much of international cricket -- the Champions League, Sri Lanka's visit and the tour of Bangladesh. I am sure it will be there (in the coming seasons)," he said.