Lanka Premier League 2020: Gayle, Malinga opt out of inaugural edition
West Indies legend Chris Gayle and Sri Lanka great Lasith Malinga have pulled out of the inaugural Lankan Premier League. While Gayle is reportedly carrying an injury, Malinga has cited a lack of preparation as the reason behind his withdrawal.
As per a report in ESPNCricinfo, England fast bowler Liam Plunkett has also joined Gayle in the opted-out player list for Kandy Tuskers. Their franchise confirmed the said development on their official Twitter page on Thursday (November 19).
We are sad to announce that Chris Gayle will not be playing for us in this year’s @LPLT20_ https://t.co/zI6RmJlXkQ
— Kandy Tuskers (@KandyTuskers) November 18, 2020
41-year-old Gayle, who holds the record for the most sixes in T20 cricket, played for the Kings XI Punjab squad in the recently concluded IPL 2020. Malinga, on the other hand, missed the entire IPL seasons due to personal reasons. The veteran seamer was supposed to captain the Galle Gladiators in the first-ever edition of Sri Lanka’s premier T20 tournament.
Meanwhile, former Indian cricketers Irfan Pathan and Munaf Patel have arrived in the Island Nation as part of the Tuskers squad.
In Srilanka for the #LPLT20 looking forward to this new journey… #cricket pic.twitter.com/fuzcRqyedz
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) November 16, 2020
The 2020 LPL, comprising of franchises from Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Dambulla and Jaffna, is slated to begin from November 26. The tournament will conclude on December 16.
