Lanka Premier League 2020: Irfan Pathan confirms unavailability for LPL 2020

Irfan Pathan confirms unavailability: The former Indian all-rounder took to his social media platform Twitter handle to confirm the development.

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan has quashed all reports of him confirming availability for the inaugural season of the Lanka Premier League.

Following Sri Lanka Cricket’s confirmation regarding having 70 overseas cricketers on board for their maiden T20 competition since 2012, it was widely being speculated that Pathan was among one of the overseas names.

Having announced the tournament in June, it was only a week ago that SLC announced the possible window between August 28 – September 20. Given the much-improved COVID-19 status in the island nation, it remains an ideal venue to play cricket amidst the global pandemic.

Irfan Pathan confirms unavailability for LPL 2020

Pathan, 35, took to his social media platform Twitter to confirm unavailability with respect to Lanka Premier League 2020. “I wish to play T20 Legues around the world in future, but at this stage I haven’t confirmed my availability in any Leagues,” read Pathan’s tweet.

I wish to play T20 Legues around the world in future, but at this stage I haven’t confirmed my availability in any Leagues.

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) August 3, 2020

Pathan, who announced his retirement January thi year, is eligible to play in overseas T20 leagues as BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) doesn’t allow its active players to play outside the country. The southpaw was seen representing India Legends during the Road Safety World Series in March this year.

Apart from Pathan, the likes of Suresh Raina, Robin Uthappa and Pragyan Ojha have also opened up on playing in overseas T20 leagues. Veteran spinner Harbhajan Singh had to withdraw his name from ECB’s The Hundred last year for he still is an active player for IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings.

Former all-rounder Yuvraj Singh and fast bowler Manpreet Gony had represented Toronto Nationals in the second season of the Global T20 Canada last year but both did the same post announcing their international retirement.

Yuvraj, who announced international retirement in June 2019, also went on to represent Maratha Arabians in the Abu Dhabi T10 League.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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