I haven’t confirmed my availability in any franchise leagues: Irfan Pathan
Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan clarified earlier today that he has not confirmed his availability for any franchise cricket league. The clarification comes after a report by ESPNCricinfo said that Irfan Pathan was among 70 foreign players to have shown interest in playing the Lanka Premier League (LPL).
It was further reported that his name would be put in a player draft unless one of the five franchises choose him to be a marquee player.
Irfan Pathan took to Twitter to throw light on the aforementioned report, stating that he wishes to play in T20 leagues but has not confirmed his availability.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) does not allow active Indian players to take part in overseas T20 leagues but in Irfan Pathan's case, he may have been given a go ahead because he retired in January 2020.
There were reports that former Sri Lanka all-rounder Farveez Maharoof suggested that Irfan Pathan’s name be added to the draft. On Monday, the Sri Lankan cricket board announced that the Lanka Premier League will be played if everything goes to plan.
The tournament will be played in front of small crowds. Compared to other countries, the COVID-19 situation in Sri Lanka is relatively under control. The nation has so far reported only 3000 COVID-19 positive cases.
However, they are still adhering to every possible precaution to prevent an outbreak. Although the lockdown was lifted in June, the airport is still receiving only repatriation flights.
Irfan Pathan played 173 games for India
As for Irfan Pathan, he played 120 ODIs, 29 Tests and 24 T20Is for the Indian cricket team. Irfan Pathan picked up 173 wickets and scored 1544 runs in ODIs and in the shortest format, he took 28 wickets and scored 72 runs. At present, he works as a commentator for Star Sports.