It is noteworthy that the team owners were not interested in buying any Sri Lankan players at the player selection auction for the IPL 2021 tournament held on the 18th. It is a sad news for Sri Lankan sports fans that despite nine talented players who shined in the recent Lanka Premier League (LPL) tournament were available for the auction, none of them was bought. It is the first time in history that no Sri Lankan player was selected for the final auction of the IPL.
Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, two world-renowned Sri Lankan cricketers, are among those who are shocked by this.
However, they both say that the reason Sri Lankan players were not selected for the IPL this time was not their incompetence.
According to Kumar Sangakkara, one of the main reasons why IPL team owners do not select Sri Lankan players is that Sri Lanka Cricket does not have a specific match schedule for the upcoming national team matches.
Kumar Sangakkara said, “It is important to know the exact number of matches that can be played in order to use the players for IPL matches.
Mahela Jayawardene, the head coach of the Mumbai Indians, who was present at the auction, said that the focus of the auction was on fast bowlers and all-rounders.
Mahela Jayawardena further said, “Only about 20 foreign players had a chance at the auction. Fast bowlers and all-rounders got the most opportunities.”
