LPL 2020: West Indies Batsman Chris Gayle, England Fast Bowler Liam Plunkett Opt Out Of Lanka Premier League

Gayle and Plunkett were to join former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel, local icon Kusal Perera, Sri Lankan T20 specialists Kusal Mendis and Nuwan Pradeep among others at Kandy Tuskers.

Photos: AFP, Liam Plunkett on Facebook

Colombo: Popular West Indies batsman Chris Gayle and England fast bowler Liam Plunkett have decided to pull out of the upcoming inaugural edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL).  Gayle and Plunkett were to join former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel, local icon Kusal Perera, Sri Lankan T20 specialists Kusal Mendis and Nuwan Pradeep among others at Kandy Tuskers. However, Tuskers revealed that both Gayle and Plunkett have decided to opt out of the tournament. "We are sad to announce that Chris Gayle will not be playing for us in this year's LPL," the franchise had tweeted from their official Twitter handle on Wednesday.

We are sad to announce that Chris Gayle will not be playing for us in this year's @LPLT20_ https://t.co/zI6RmJlXkQ

— Kandy Tuskers (@KandyTuskers) November 18, 2020

"We are also sad to announce that Liam Plunkett will also not be playing in this year's LPL," they tweeted on Thursday.

We are also sad to announce that Liam Plunkett will also not be playing in this year's @LPLT20_

— Kandy Tuskers (@KandyTuskers) November 19, 2020

Tuskers will be taking on Colombo Kings in the tournament opener on November 26. The other three teams participating in the league are Dambulla Hawks, Galle Gladiators, and Jaffna Stallions. The T20 tournament, which involves 23 matches, will have doubleheaders being played every day till the semi-finals that are scheduled to happen on December 13 and 14. The final is slated to happen on December 16. All the matches will be held at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, Hambantota.