In what is turning out to be disastrous for the Lanka Premier League, charismatic Caribbean opener Chris Gayle has pulled out of the tournament. He was slated to play for the Kandy Tuskers which is owned by the family of Bollywood superstar Salman Khan. The franchise has confirmed about this development and as per reports in the InsideSport, it is learnt that Gayle withdrew his name from the tournament as commercial understanding with the organizers couldn’t be made.
Taking to their Twitter handle, the Kandy Tuskers wrote, “We are sad to announce that Chris Gayle will not be playing for us in this year’s @LPLT20.”
Gayle was expected to be part of the squad alongside other stalwarts of the game including the likes of Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel, Kusal Mendis and Liam Plunkett. Meanwhile, the tournament has been running into several off-field issues over the last few days. With just a week left for the tournament to commence, the withdrawal of Gayle will be massive considering the fan base of the “Universe Boss”.
Meanwhile, former Pakistan skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed also pulled out of the tournament yesterday. He was slated to ply his trade for the Galle Gladiators but now will be unavailable due to international commitments. Unlike the four other teams in the tournament who are already in Hambantota in a bio-secure bubble, Galle Gladiators is yet to reach the island nation.
Not only Sarfaraz but his national teammate Wahab Riaz is also expected to pull out of the tournament alongside England all-rounder Liam Plunkett. Meanwhile, doubts have also been raised surrounding the participation of Lasith Malinga. It is learnt that the Lankan T20I skipper is in a dilemma whether to take part in the tournament or not. Reports in the ESPNCricinfo state that the franchise owners are not happy with the developments and feel that the organisation of the tournament has been “chaotic” with less than 10 days to go.
Despite all these latest developments and issues being raised on the player payments and contracts, Sri Lanka Cricket is still confident off pulling off this tournament.
“Player contracts have been delivered, and they will have to come back to us with their lawyers and all that,” LPL director Ravin Wickramaratne was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo. “There have been issues with transferring money. We’ll talk to franchisees when they arrive. Before the tournament starts they will have to pay 40% to the players.”
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