Indian cricketers in LPL 2020: Four former Indian fast bowlers are taking part in the inaugural season of Lanka Premier League.
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Watching Indian cricketers play in overseas T20 competition is a rarity. A primary reason behind the same is BCCI’s (Board of Control for Cricket in India) hard stance around not allowing their players to play in overseas T20 leagues.
Veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh had to withdraw his name from ECB’s The Hundred (eventually delayed due to COVID-19 pandemic) last year for he still was an active player for IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings.
While not much has changed about the situation as far as active cricketers are concerned, retired Indian cricketers have started to travel abroad to take part in T20 or T20 leagues.
Former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh had become the first high-profile Indian cricketer to play in an overseas T20 league when he captained Toronto Nationals in the second season of the Global T20 Canada last year.
Other than Yuvraj, his former Punjab and India teammate in Manpreet Gony also played for Toronto but the duo qualified for the same only after announcing their respective international retirements. Yuvraj, who announced international retirement in June 2019, went on to represent Maratha Arabians in the Abu Dhabi T10 League as well.
The likes of veteran batsmen in Suresh Raina and Robin Uthappa and former spinner Pragyan Ojha have all opined on the prospect of being granted permission by the BCCI to play in overseas T20 leagues.
Indian cricketers in LPL 2020
The inaugural season of the Lanka Premier League, which commences from today with Colombo Kings and Kandy Tuskers locking horns against each other in Hambantota, will feature as many as four retired Indian fast bowlers namely Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel, Sudeep Tyagi and Gony.
Pathan, 36, is the most experienced players out of these four with 173 international appearances across formats at the highest level. Pathan’s last competitive match was for India Legends where he registered a commanding half-century against Sri Lanka Legends in the Road Safety World Series earlier this year.
In Srilanka for the #LPLT20 looking forward to this new journey… #cricket pic.twitter.com/fuzcRqyedz
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) November 16, 2020
As for Patel, the 37-year old right-arm pacer had picked bowling figures of 4-0-19-4 in the same match in which Pathan had scored a half-century. Having played in the T10 League in 2018, Patel’s last T20 appearance dates back to 2017 when he represented Gujarat Lions in the Indian Premier League. It is worth mentioning that both Pathan and Patel will represent Kandy Tuskers under Kusal Perera in LPL 2020.
Tyagi, 33, had announced his retirement from all formats less than a fortnight ago. The Uttar Pradesh-fast bowler who had played four ODIs and a T20I for India between 2009-10 will be seen playing for Dambulla Viiking in LPL 2020.
Much like Pathan and Patel, Gony’s last competitive appearance was also in the Road Safety World Series. Having played his last T20 for Punjab last year, Gony had stints in the Global T20 Canada and the T10 League the same year. The 36-year old player will play LPL 2020 for Colombo Kings under Angelo Mathews.
