Sri Lankan ‘twin towers’ add might to Masters League
June 30, 2015 04:22 pm
Sri Lankan greats Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene have already begun making their post-retirement plans. They’ve given their nod to the Masters’ League in the United Arab Emirates, a tournament scheduled to be played from 2016 onwards that will have retired cricketers featuring in it.
While Jayawardene bid goodbye to Test cricket last August in a farewell series at home against Pakistan, his friend and teammate Sangakkara will do the same in the series against India at home in August this year.
On Saturday, Sangakkara had formally announced his decision to retire after speculation began doing the rounds that he would look to prolong his Test career. He, along with Jayawardene, are among the only five cricketers in the world to have scored more than 11,000 runs in Test and One-Day cricket.
With age not on their side any more, both these cricketers weren’t picked by any of the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises last season. The scenario is unlikely to change in the future too.
Sources tracking developments in the Masters’ League told TOI that the two Sri Lankan stalwarts are likely to sign up very soon. “The league has been planned around the lines of there being immense value for nostalgia. Who wouldn’t like to see Wasim Akram or an Adam Gilchrist in action once again. The likes of Sangakkara and Jayawardene will, therefore, add great value,” says the source.
Meanwhile, the Masters’ League is yet to sign up any Indian cricketer. Those who’ve planned the league back in the UAE were in India this week, looking to negotiate contracts with cricketers and potential broadcasters.
An IPL style auction of teams and cricketers is being planned soon. Last heard, the league was finding it tough to get Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar to sign on the dotted line.
Source: TNN
