The Lanka Premier League (LPL) Twenty20 Cricket Tournament received another tremendous boost with former India fast bowler, Munaf Patel joining the Kandy Tuskers as one of their overseas players.
The 37-year-old right-arm seamer is probably one of the most high profiled players to join the franchise having played in the 2011 champion ICC World Cup Team.
Patel played 13 Test matches, 70 One Day Internationals and three Twenty20 Internationals for India before his career ended soon after the 2011 Cricket World Cup.
“It was discussed with the franchise owners and they wanted to get Patel on board which was a tactical decision as well as an owners’ preference as well,” a top official of the Kandy Tuskers franchise told the Daily News yesterday.
“We have a very good fast bowling set-up with Sohail Tanvir from Pakistan also joining the squad and making a formidable combination with Nuwan Pradeep and some of the other youngsters,” he added.
Patel will come out for the first time when the Kandy Tuskers take on the Colombo Kings in the curtain raiser match of this inaugural tournament on November 26 at the Mahinda Rajapaksa Stadium in Hambantota.
Patel of course, went wicketless in the 2011 World Cup final against Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai but still, he ended-up as the third highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 11 scalps.
Patel retired from international cricket a couple of years ago and featured in a few franchise leagues in the country and overseas ever since.
His most productive period probably came when he represented the Gujarat Lions, Mumbai Indians and the Rajasthan Royals in the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 Tournament.
The presence of Patel is certain to add more venom to the Kandy Tuskers’ bowling line-up, which already includes another Indian seamer Irfan Pathan, Wahab Riyaz (Pakistan) and Naveen-ul-Haq (Afghanistan).
Patel will also become the fourth Indian cricketer to play in the LPL after his teammate Pathan and Manvinder Bisla and Manpreet Gony with both representing the Colombo Kings Team.
Patel will add more muscle to the Kandy Tuskers bowling attack, which also includes some local talent including Nuwan Pradeep, Seekkuge Prasanna and Dilruwan Perera.
The Kandy Tuskers Team have already arrived in Hambantota and their latest addition Patel is set to join the squad later this week.
