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 fair competition after Gujarat Titans suffered from travel constraints and a grueling playoff schedule.Gujarat Titans entered Sunday’s final against Royal Challengers Bengaluru with less than 24 hours of preparation after arriving in Ahmedabad late on Saturday evening following a weather-related delay in Chandigarh.The franchise booked their place in the final with a win over Rajasthan Royals in Qualifier 2 at New Chandigarh on Friday night. However, heavy rains in parts of northwest India disrupted their travel plans, preventing their charter flight from departing as scheduled on Saturday afternoon.Instead of reaching Ahmedabad with ample recovery time, the Titans reached their hotel in Gandhinagar late at night before the biggest game of the season.Gavaskar called for a fairer approach.Gavaskar believes the extraordinary circumstances warrant a schedule change, especially with a reserve day already in place for the final.“Yes, definitely,” Gavaskar told India Today when asked if the final should have been pushed back a day. “Make no mistake, athletes need rest. You didn’t know when your flight was taking off, so there was anxiety. Which means you’re away mentally as well as physically hurting.”BattingGreat pointed out that the disruption was beyond Gujarat’s control and argued that postponing the match by a day would have given the players adequate opportunity to recover physically and mentally.“I thought with a reserve day, what happened was completely unexpected, they could have pushed the final to tomorrow, just to be a bit fair to the Gujarat Titans team,” he added.Qualifier 1 has a strong advantage.This issue has once again highlighted the growing advantage of the teams that won Qualifier 1.RCB clinched a direct spot in the final by defeating Gujarat Titans on Tuesday and had about five 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 to Ahmedabad after winning Qualifier 2.Traditionally, the IPL playoffs are held at two venues, reducing travel demands on teams. However, this season, the playoffs were spread over three cities, adding to the logistical challenges.This trend is 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.
