Sanga to play for Kandurata

Kumar Sangakkara today said that he will play for the ‘Kandurata Maroons’ in the Champions league T20 instead of his IPL team ‘Sunrise Hyderabad’.

It was earlier reported that Sri Lanka Cricket held a meeting with former skipper and veteran player Kumar Sangakkara.  SLC’s secretary, Nishantha Ranatunga shared that the board discussed the possibility of Sangakkara playing for local team Kandurata Maroons in the Champions League T20 instead of his IPL franchise, Sunrisers Hyderabad.

“What we told Kumar at the meeting was that we would like him to play for the local team. We have told the franchise we would like Kumar to play for the local team as well,” said Ranatunga.

SLC is also in discussions with Sunrisers Hyderabad to obtain a release for their national player. While Ranatunga shared that Sangakkara was ‘happy to play for Kandurata’, he did not confirm whether he will actually be appearing for the local team. According to Champions League T20’s rules, players are not held in breach of their contracts if they don’t appear for their IPL teams; however, salary cuts are inevitable in such a situation.

If Sangakkara does not play for his IPL franchise, he will be losing out on about $140,000. The SLC has reportedly requested that this amount be reduced, but it remains to be seen whether the Sunrisers will be willing to pay Sangakkara the full amount without playing him in the tournament.

On the other hand, Sunrisers Hyderabad stands to save the $150,000 which is paid by franchises to players’ qualifying local teams. If Sangakkara appears for Kandurata Maroons in this Champions League, Sunrisers will not have to pay the team. While losing out on this money will be a loss for the already struggling Sri Lankan board, Ranatunga expressed that the board was willing to take the hit as long as their key player represents the local team in the tournament.

Kumar Sangakkara is easily the most experienced player in Kandurata’s squad, and given his recent limited-overs form, his inclusion will be key to the local team’s success in the T20 extravaganza. As for his appearances for the Sunrisers in this year’s IPL, Sangakkara did not perform too well and chose to sit out several matches in the later stages of the tournament.