Several England players have opted to depart the IPL early to gear up for the Pakistan T20I series and the forthcoming T20 World Cup in the USA and the West Indies. Expressing disapproval, Sunil Gavaskar criticized their premature exit, suggesting that the BCCI should potentially impose penalties on these players for disrupting their IPL commitments.

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What did Sunil Gavaskar say about the ENG players that departed before the play-offs? 

The English Cricket Board (ECB) has come under fire from former India captain Sunil Gavaskar for wanting T20 World Cup participants to head home early. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), according to Gavaskar, need to "penalise players" and "boards" for such behaviour. In order to heal his knee in time for the T20 World Cup next month, Liam Livingstone withdrew from the present IPL. In addition, Will Jacks, Reece Topley, and Jos Buttler (RR) have left the IPL to become part of England's team for the T20I series against Pakistan, which begins on May 22. The Punjab Kings are now at the bottom of the rankings with eight points and have already been eliminated from the IPL playoffs after only four victories in 12 games.

Gavaskar stressed the monetary implications of an early exit from the IPL and asked IPL clubs to withhold a sizable chunk of their players' wages in his column for Mid Day. Sunil Gavaskar wrote: 

"I am all for players choosing country before anything else, but having assured various franchises about their availability for the full season, if they pull out now, it will be letting down the franchises. The franchises should not only be allowed to deduct a substantial amount from the fee that the player was bought for, but also not give the Board, to which the player belongs, the stated 10 per cent commission of the fee that each player gets,"
 

"If the Board has gone back on its assurance they need to be penalised too. This 10 per cent commission to the Boards happens only in the IPL and nowhere else. Does the BCCI get any thanks for its generosity? No way," 

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Gavaskar advocated for the introduction of sanctions against cricket boards and players who breach their agreements. He drew attention to the unequal treatment of players in the IPL compared to other T20 leagues throughout the globe, pointing out that cricket boards get a 10% fee for IPL participation.