CPL 2019: Irfan Pathan Part Of The CPL Player Draft, Set To Create History

Former India allrounder Irfan Pathan is looking all set to become the first Indian player to play in the Caribbean Premier League. The final list of players who have signed up for the Caribbean Premier League Draft 2019 was announced on the league’s website earlier on Thursday. And Irfan was one of the most surprising names in the list.

For the record, no Indian cricketer has ever played in any big overseas T20 League. The BCCI has maintained a tough stance on the matter and has not allowed the players to take part in the likes of CPL, Big Bash League, Bangladesh Premier League or any other prominent T20 tournament. But Irfan is now looking more or less set to bring an end to that trend.

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The allrounder’s cricket career as a player is very much off the track now. He recently plied his trade as a commentator in the Indian Premier League. As far as his international career is concerned, he has not played for India since 2012. Last season, he had also left Baroda to play for Jammu and Kashmir after being sensationally dropped. He had joined J&K team in a player-cum-mentor role.

Irfan has so far represented India in 29 Tests, 120 ODIs and 24 T20Is, picking up a total of 301 wickets. He has also scored over 2,800 international runs for India. However, Irfan is now very much unlikely to play for India again. Irfan, nonetheless, has ample experience of playing T20 cricket, He has played for a number of IPL franchises such as Kings XI Punjab, Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) Chennai Super Kings as well as Gujarat Lions.

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Meanwhile, the CPL 2019 Player Draft will be held on May 22nd in London. The list of retained players would also be announced on the same day. Players from across 20 countries and West Indies have registered themselves to be a part of the league. Big names such as JP Duminy, Shakib Al Hasan, Alex Hales and Rashid Khan along with the West Indies stars are a part of this list.