Marnus Labuschagne eager to ply his trade in the IPL

Marnus Labuschagne, the Australian batsman, has set his sights on the Indian Premier League after showing dominance in Test cricket over the last one and half years. Once a concussion substitute for Steve Smith in the 2019 Lord’s Ashes Test, Labuschagne has shown what he is capable of, scoring 1,512 runs in 15 Tests thus far at a stupendous average of 60.48.

The 26-year-old now wishes to ply his craft in the IPL, having followed the league closely over the years. Marnus understands that in the last 16 months, he has grown in his career and now feels to have a better chance of playing for one of the IPL teams.

I would love to be over there, says Marnus Labuschagne

“I have been interested in the IPL for a long time, always following and how the teams are going. I really want to be involved in the IPL at some stage but I think the time will come when I’m ready for that opportunity. And I think you don’t need to always rush these things,” Labuschagne was quoted as saying while speaking to Cricbuzz.

“You know the way my career has developed in the last year has been quite substantial. It’s gone really quick. Probably a year and a half ago, I wouldn’t even be in contention for the IPL but now I would love to be over there,” he added.

Though Labuschagne has displayed his class and flair in Test cricket, he doesn’t have a whole lot of experience in the shortest format. In T20 cricket, the right-hander has only played 10 matches after making his debut in the 2016-17 edition of the Big Bash League.

In those matches, the right-handed batsman has managed 97 runs at an average and strike-rate of 12.12 and 100 respectively. In the previous edition of the BBL, the Young Turk turned up for the Brisbane Heat, captained by Chris Lynn.

For the time being, he has a massive role to play in the Border Gavaskar Trophy. In the first Day-Night Test that the Aussies won by eight wickets, Marnus got scores of 47 and six. He has, without a doubt, become a stalwart in the Test team.