IPL 2021: Marnus Labuschagne wishes to register for the upcoming auction

Marnus Labuschagne, the Australian batsman, has expressed his desire to play in the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). The 26-year-old has hinted at registering for the IPL auction, which is set to take place on February 18 in Chennai.

Labuschagne recently played in the 2020-21 edition of the Big Bash League (BBL) where he represented the Brisbane Heat, captained by Chris Lynn. Labuschagne joined the Heat late as he was playing in the Border Gavaskar Trophy against India.

After he joined Lynn and Co, he made an impact, both with the bat and ball in hand. The South Africa-born has stated that he won’t mind chancing his luck in the cash-rich T20 league. Labuschagne put forth his views in a post-match interview during the BBL.

I have been interested in the IPL for a long time: Marnus Labuschagne

“I think so, I think so [will be registering for the IPL]. That will obviously be released really soonish anyway. You throw your name in the hat and see what happens. You know, like I’ve said that the IPL is a great competition. Personally, I would love to be part of it but, let’s see what happens,” Labuschagne told.

Earlier in December 2020 when Australia were busy playing the Adelaide Test against India, Labuschagne talked about his dream of taking part in the IPL. He believed that he has a chance of getting picked after how he has performed in the last one and half years or so.

“I have been interested in the IPL for a long time, always following and how the teams are going. I really want to be involved in the IPL at some stage but I think the time will come when I’m ready for that opportunity. And I think you don’t need to always rush these things.

“You know the way my career has developed in the last year has been quite substantial. It’s gone real quick. Probably a year and a half ago, I wouldn’t even be in contention for the IPL but now I would love to be over there,” he had said.

In the 2020-21 BBL, Labuschagne scored 176 runs at an average and strike-rate of 29.33 and 123.07 respectively. With his leg-breaks, he got 10 wickets at an economy rate of 8.58.