‘Players require rest’: Gavaskar questions final IPL 2026 schedule, says GT deserves fairer deal

Sunil Gavaskar questions the final planning of IPL 2026. 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 competition after Gujarat Titans were hit by travel disruptions and a grueling play-off schedule.Gujarat Titans entered Sunday’s final against Royal Challengers Bengaluru with less than 24 hours to prepare after arriving in Ahmedabad late on Saturday night following a weather delay in Chandigarh.The franchise secured their place in the finals with a win over Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 2 on Friday night in New Chandigarh. However, heavy rainfall in parts of northwest India disrupted their travel plans and prevented their charter flight from departing as scheduled on Saturday afternoon.Instead of reaching Ahmedabad with plenty of time to recover, the Titans reached their hotel in Gandhinagar late the night before the biggest game of the season.Gavaskar calls for a fairer approachGavaskar believes the extraordinary circumstances have necessitated a change in the schedule, especially with a reserve day already available for the final.“Yes, definitely,” Gavaskar told India Today when asked if the final should have been moved back a day. “Make no mistake, the players need rest. You didn’t know when your flight was leaving, so you were nervous. Which means that apart from the physical losses, you’re also mentally.”Pointing out that the disruption was beyond Gujarat’s control, the batsman argued that postponing the match by a day would give the players a fair chance to recover physically and mentally.“I thought with the reserve day, given that what happened was totally unexpected, they could have moved the final to tomorrow, just to be a bit fair to the Gujarat Titans team,” he added.Skill advantage 1 is getting strongerThis edition again highlighted the growing advantage of the teams who won Qualifier 1.RCB clinched a direct spot in the final by beating Gujarat Titans on Tuesday and had almost 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 and then head to Ahmedabad after winning Qualifier 2.Traditionally, the IPL playoffs are held at two venues, reducing the travel requirements for teams. However, this season the playoffs were spread over three cities, adding to the logistical problems.The trend was also reflected in the results. The winner of Qualifier 1 has lifted the IPL trophy in each of the last eight seasons, further strengthening the argument that the play-off structure increasingly favors the team that reaches the final first.