"Thought It Was A Joke": When Sachin Tendulkar Offered Luke Wright To Play For Mumbai Indians

England all-rounder Luke Wright recalled his first reaction on being offered to play for Mumbai Indians (MI) by then captain and cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar in the inaugural edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Luke Wright, however, could not play for the Sachin Tendulkar-led side as he was barred from participating in franchise tournaments from his cricket board.

In 2008, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) were adamant that their players cannot participate in the Indian Premier League (IPL). As a result, Luke Wright missed out on his opportunity to play in the lucrative tournament, and still regrets the same.

Sachin Tendulkar rang me to play for Mumbai Indians: Luke Wright

Luke Wright, 35, believes if he had the experience of playing for different leagues before playing for national team it would have been an added advantage for him. Recalling the offer made by Sachin Tendulkar to play for Mumbai Indians, he said, he considered it to be joke and some of his teammates might be playing some prank with him.

“If I had been able to have the experience with these franchises and different leagues before playing for England, which a lot of the players are doing either during or before, now, is such an advantage,” Wright said on Wisden and CricViz’s The Greatest T20 podcast.

“I remember missing out on one of the IPLs actually. I thought it was a joke – Sachin Tendulkar rang me to go and play for the Mumbai Indians in one of the first IPLs, and I obviously thought it was the lads taking the mick,” he recalled.

Wright, however, later found his opportunity to play in the IPL for Pune Warriors India in 2012-13. Before that he had played for the Melbourne Stars in the BBL and then later went on to gain experiences in the BPL and PSL.