Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has urged IPL franchises to not get fascinated by players' performances in state and city leagues and sweep them up because such players, when faced with a top-tier bowling attack in IPL, fail to live up to the challenge. According to Gavaskar, franchises should exercise caution, emphasising the standard of batting and bowling in state and city leagues is nowhere near international cricket, and franchises often end up wasting their money. Gavaskar's remarks reflected that the transition from the regional competition to the IPL is far more challenging.

"A lot of the big hitters in the various State and city leagues that have sprouted up were exposed when faced with the international quality of bowling in the IPL," Gavaskar wrote in Sportstar.

"In the State and city leagues, the standard of both batting and bowling is nowhere near as good, and unless the scouts have a discerning eye and don't get swayed by player agents, the franchises will keep picking players based on these performances and find they have wasted their money."

Gavaskar hit out at the franchises for spending crores on players and not using them during the season. Gavaskar further highlighted that franchises get sold dummies by player agents.

"When a franchise picks a player for crores and then doesn't play him in more than a couple of games, it tells you that their scouts and advisers have sold them a dummy. The IPL very quickly finds a player out as being overrated and overvalued. Yet there will be players who will have one performance in the tournament, and it's usually in a match of not much consequence for their team, and on the basis of that performance be picked for another year. One could make at least four teams of such one-match performers who will be picked again and again in the IPL," he added.