Irfan Pathan To Make Sensational Return To Cricket For Overseas T20 League: Report
Published - 31 Jul 2020, 11:07 AM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:32 AM
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The fans could once again witness former India allrounder Irfan Pathan playing on a cricket field at a high level. The former international brought down curtains on his cricket career earlier this year, thus bringing an end to nearly his two decade association with the game at the top-level.
Irfan Pathan last played for India way back in the 2012 T20 World Cup and never even came close to earning another recall. He, however, kept plying his trade in the domestic circuit and the Indian Premier League (IPL). The pace-bowling allrounder did show glimpse of his best form but it was not enough for him to make a fairytale comeback to the national team.
Irfan Pathan, who retired in January this year, last played at high level in February last year when he represented Jammu and Kashmir in a T20. In March this year, he was seen in action for India Legends during the Road Safety World Series.
Irfan Pathan to make a comeback:
As per reports, the former India international has shown interest in playing in the Lanka Premier League (LPL). The franchise based T20 Cricket Tournament is set to get underway next month. According to local reports in Sri Lanka, the 23-match League will be played at the R. Premadasa Stadium, Dambulla Stadium, Pallekele Stadium and Mahinda Rajapaksa Stadium in Hambantota.
The five franchised teams which would be competing in this T20 tournament are Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Dambulla and Jaffna. Along with Irfan Pathan, New Zealand star Martin Guptill is another big name who has shown an interest in playing in the tournament.
“There are about 143 overseas players in the list who are very keen to play in this tournament and now it is up to the respective franchises to select these cricketers,” a high ranking official at Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) told the Daily News.
“We have also asked the local clubs to nominate two players for this event and so there would be a total of 48 top domestic players from the 24 Premier Clubs who would be eligible to represent the four franchises.
“In addition, we have a total 80 national players who are currently contracted with SLC and they will also be strong contenders to make it to the final squad,” the official added further.
Both Irfan Pathan and Guptill are highly experienced T20 players. The ex-India cricketer has played a total of 177 T20s while representing the likes of Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rising Pune Supergiants, Kings XI Punjab, Delhi Daredevils and Chennai Super Kings in the IPL. On the other hand, Guptill is a veteran of 253 T20s.
