Sri Lankan cricket legends Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardena have lamented the fact that no player from the Island nation was picked in the recently-concluded Indian Premier League (IPL) auction in Chennai for the forthcoming 14th edition of the IPL.
With none of the eight franchises picking any Sri Lankan players in the IPL 2021 auction in Chennai on Thursday (February 18), this is the first time in the history of the IPL when no Sri Lankan cricketers will feature in the tournament which is expected to be held from April till the first week of June in India.
No Lankan player found a place across the 8 teams despite three legends from the country having major roles in the IPL – Sangakkara - the Director of Cricket at Rajasthan Royals, Jayawardena - Head coach of Mumbai Indians, and Muttiah Muralitharan as bowling coach at Sunrisers Hyderabad.
After the IPL auction 2021, the two batting legends expressed disappointment to see absence of Sri Lankan players in the IPL while blaming lack of clarity on tours programme by Sri Lanka Cricket and lack of bowlers and all-rounders for the absence of Lankan players in the lucrative tournament.
Sangakkara told the media on Friday: “I think there were some fantastic players there (in the Lanka Premier League) and in Sri Lanka currently. But I think the crucial thing is the unpredictability of the touring programme of SLC (Sri Lanka Cricket) where it is very hard to predict for how long players can be available and if they have to even leave at some point in the IPL season.”
The MCC President and former Sri Lanka wicket-keeper and captain added, “So it adds a bit of volatility that franchises kind of shy away from. That is one of the big reasons why you see a lack of Sri Lanka players in the IPL and definitely not because they don’t have the capability.”
On the other hand, Jayawardena has pointed out the fact that the bowlers and bowling all-rounders were the center of attraction at the IPL auction and that Sri Lanka doesn’t have much quality in both departments.
The former captain Sri Lanka captain explained, “It is disappointing and disheartening… I think a few guys were on the radar, but it is a tough place because we are looking at 20-odd slots for overseas players, and the majority of those slots were for the fast bowlers and all-rounders. Sri Lanka lacks a bit of that.”
He signed off by saying, “IPL is the place where you try and get the best players in world cricket, and it’s a good message for the Sri Lankan cricketers to lift their game and be competitive so that they could be part of the IPL on their merit.”
(With IANS Inputs)
