"No need. We are rich people, we don’t go to poor countries" - Virender Sehwag makes a bold remark about Indian players not playing overseas leagues
Former India cricketer Virender Sehwag boldly remarked that overseas competitions cannot match the Indian Premier League's (IPL) salary levels to attract players from the country.
Players associated with India are not allowed to partake in overseas leagues around the globe. From a financial standpoint, the Indian players, whether it be reputed or emerging, are not overtly dependent on such routes because of the astronomical salaries that the IPL provides. The BCCI and the state associations have also whipped up incentive schemes that benefit the uncapped players financially.
Sehwag recently made an appearance on the Club Prairie Podcase alongside Adam Gilchrist, where he was asked about Indian players potentially appearing in overseas leagues.
The former opening batter did not mince his words and bluntly remarked that such leagues would not be able to afford the Indian players, even if the BCCI agreed to their participation. He included his personal experience when a BBL franchise offered him a deal.
"No! Why? No need. We are rich people, we don’t go to poor countries. I still remember that when I retired from the Indian team, not retired but dropped and was playing IPL, I received an offer to participate in Big Bash. I said that okay how much money you are offering? They said some $100,000. I replied I can spend that much that much money on my holidays,” Sehwag said.
"Going out for one month playing Big bash or The Hundred, where you get only that $100,000, maybe $200,000. If you talk about millions, yes then I’m interested otherwise no," Sehwag further stated.
Most of the overseas leagues in the world follow the draft system with different tiers present according to the price bracket. If the most recent BBL draft and IPL auction are compared, then the highest amount in the former was in the platinum bracket with a sum of AUD 420,000 (₹2.2 crore), while the salary cap was AUD 3 million (₹16.2 crore).
On the other hand, during the 2024 IPL mini-auction, the likes of Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc fetched ten times the highest amount offered by the BBL.
"We’ll love to have you on our panel.’ I said 'You can’t afford me'" - Virender Sehwag recalls rejecting Sky Sports' offer
Sehwag has been active on the business front since his retirement. He is responsible for running a school bearing his name and continues to be a common and prominent feature in advertisements as well as a cricket pundit.
“So once once I got a call from Sky Sports that ‘We’ll love to have you in in our panel.’ I said ‘You can’t afford me’. But they said, ‘No, give me your price’. I said ‘You can’t afford me but they said ‘Please give us the price’. Then I said okay ‘£10,000 a day’ and they said, ‘Yes you’re right we can’t'”," Sehwag said.
Notably, several former Indian players like Sourav Ganguly and Dinesh Karthik have marked their presence in the Sky Sports panel in recent times.