Quite from the time the ICC announced their plans regarding the Masters’ League to be inaugurated in UAE in 2016, many old cricketing legends have shown their interest in the same. The recent additions to the list are the twin towers of Sri Lanka: Kumar Sangakkara & Mahela Jayawardene. It seems that the two batting legends have planned their post-retirement by nodding to the Masters’ League, a tournament which will feature retired cricketers.
Mahela Jayawardene bid farewell to international cricket last year in August in a home series against Pakistan, whereas his peer, Kumar Sangakkara, has recently announced his retirement after the second Test against India in a home series in August. The announcement came on Saturday, after the speculations regarding Sangakkara prolonging his career came out.
Along with age, the batting prowess of both the batsmen have always had an upward graph as both are amongst the only five batsmen in the world, who have scored more than 11,000 runs in both One Day Internationals and Test matches. In spite of these achievements, they failed to be picked up by any of the franchises in the last season of IPL.
A source from the Masters’ League informed TOI that both these players are likely to sign up soon. The source added, “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.”
It’s also in news that the league is yet to sign up any Indian cricketer. Hopefully, there will be some development in this regard as well. This means that the Masters’ League has been unable to sign up the great icon, Sachin Tendulkar and is trying best to negotiate him.