Chris Gayle and Lasith Malinga are some of the big names to pull out from the Lanka Premier League scheduled to happen between November 26 and December 16. The reasons for their withdrawal from the tournament are very different to each other and personal as well. This has just added to the insecurity of the tournament with it being postponed twice before due to logistical reasons. Initially, the LPL was set to take place between August 28 to September 20, but was postponed due to the constantly evolving Covid-19 situation.

Chris Gayle, who was to play for the Kandya Tuskers has pulled out of the tournament owing to an injury. Gayle was in good form in the IPL and thus some fireworks were expected from his blade which is not to be.

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Malinga, Gayle Withdraws From Lanka Premier League

Sri Lanks’s most influential T20 player Lasith Malinga has also pulled out of the tournament citing less preparation time. In an interaction with ESPN Cricinfo, Malinga said that he did not play enough cricket in the last six months and thus the preparation time given to him is not enough he feels.

“It’s not easy for a bowler to play at a high level without training. At the LPL they also have matches on back-to-back days. So I decided not to play the tournament” Malinga said.

“When the draft happened last month, I thought there would be about three weeks of training before the LPL, but there has been nothing. They are only having us come to Hambantota this week, and even there they are asking us to do three days of quarantine” he further added.

Other names like Sarfaraz Ahmed and Ravi Bopara too have withdrawn from the tournament with issues related to payment. Both the players requested for early payment which the board failed to live up to.

Earlier the LPL matches were to be played at three venues namely, Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium and Suriyawewa Mahinda Rajapakse International Cricket Stadium. However, now all the games will be played at the Suriyawewa Mahinda Rajapakse stadium. Five sides named after the cities of Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Dambulla and Jaffna will take part in the tournament.

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