‘Players require rest’: Gavaskar questions IPL 2026 final schedule, says GT deserved a fairer deal | Cricket News
NEW DELHI: Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has questioned the scheduling of the IPL 2026 final, saying the summit clash could have been postponed by a day to ensure a fairer contest after Gujarat Titans were hit by travel disruptions and an exhausting playoff schedule.Gujarat Titans entered Sunday’s final against Royal Challengers Bengaluru with less than 24 hours of preparation after reaching Ahmedabad late on Saturday evening following weather-related delays in Chandigarh.The franchise had booked their place in the final with a victory over Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 2 on Friday night in New Chandigarh. However, heavy rainfall across parts of north-western India disrupted their travel plans, preventing their charter flight from departing as scheduled on Saturday afternoon.Instead of arriving in Ahmedabad with sufficient recovery time, the Titans only reached their hotel in Gandhinagar late at night ahead of the biggest game of the season.Gavaskar calls for a fairer approachGavaskar believes the extraordinary circumstances warranted a change in schedule, especially with a reserve day already available for the final.“Yes, definitely,” Gavaskar told India Today when asked whether the final should have been pushed back by a day. “Make no mistake, players require rest. You didn’t know when your flight was taking off, so there was anxiousness. Which means you are mentally also off apart from the physical toll.”The batting great pointed out that the disruption was beyond Gujarat’s control and argued that postponing the match by a day would have given the players a fair opportunity to recover physically and mentally.“I thought with a reserve day in place, considering what happened was completely unexpected, they could have pushed the final to tomorrow, just to be a little fair to the Gujarat Titans team,” he added.Qualifier 1 advantage grows strongerThe issue has once again highlighted the growing advantage enjoyed by teams winning Qualifier 1.RCB secured a direct place in the final by defeating Gujarat Titans on Tuesday and had nearly five full days to rest, recover and prepare for the title clash.In contrast, Gujarat had to travel from Dharamsala to New Chandigarh after losing Qualifier 1, then head to Ahmedabad after winning Qualifier 2.Traditionally, IPL playoffs are staged across two venues, reducing travel demands on teams. This season, however, the playoffs were spread across three cities, increasing logistical challenges.The trend has also been reflected in results. The winner of Qualifier 1 has gone on to lift the IPL trophy in each of the last eight seasons, further strengthening the argument that the playoff structure increasingly favours the team that reaches the final first.
