Chris Gayle, Liam Plunkett and Lasith Malinga pull out their names from LPL 2020

The inaugural edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL 2020) looks in trouble even before it’s commencement as many international stars have withdrawn their names from the league due to a variety of reasons. LPL is scheduled to start on November 26 with a clash between Colombo Kings and Kandy Tuskers in Hambantota, with the final slated for December 16.

The West Indies Superstar Chris Gayle and England Pacer Liam Plunkett have pulled out of the tournament. The duo was set to play for the franchise Kandy Tuskers. Though the franchise didn’t reveal the reason for the absence of two players, they gave the information regarding their unavailability via Twitter.

Tuskers tweeted, “We are sad to announce that Chris Gayle will not be playing for us in this year’s @LPLT20.” This was followed by another tweet which read, “We are also sad to announce that Liam Plunkett will also not be playing in this year’s @LPLT20.”

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 @LPLT20_

— Kandy Tuskers (@KandyTuskers) November 19, 2020

Lasith Malinga pulls out his name from LPL 2020

The LPL franchise Galle Gladiators also received a huge blow as Sri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga has pulled out his name from the tournament citing that he didn’t get enough time to prepare for the league. Malinga reckoned that he hadn’t practiced since March and as a bowler it would be tough to make a comeback without any preparation.

“Since the West Indies series early this year, I haven’t had any cricket, and there hasn’t been any training for me at all. When the draft happened last month, I thought there would be about three weeks of training before the LPL, but there has been nothing. They are only having us come to Hambantota this week, and even there they are asking us to do three days of quarantine.” Malinga said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

“It’s not easy for a bowler to play at a high level without training. At the LPL they also have matches on back-to-back days. So I decided not to play the tournament.” he added. Apart from this, Gladiators received another shock as their skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed has also pulled out his name since he has been named in the Pakistan squad for New Zealand.