Imran-Tahir

‘I have enjoyed sharing my knowledge with youngsters in the Lanka Premier League,’ said Imran Tahir

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South African leg-spinner Imran Tahir, who has taken 4 wickets in 4 matches for the Dambulla Giants in the ongoing season of the Lanka Premier League, expressed that he has enjoyed sharing his knowledge with the youngsters in the competition. 
“I get a lot of joy from sharing my knowledge with youngsters. If they come and ask me something, then I feel it’s my duty to share my knowledge with them and I want to make a difference. The Lanka Premier League has provided a great platform for the local talent to showcase their skills. Players like Wanindu Hasaranga has gone on to become one of the most sought-after players in franchise leagues around the world,” said the leg-spinner, who has taken 424 wickets in 338 T20 matches. 
Tahir added that the youngsters need to learn how to be successful in T20 cricket, “The youngsters need to know how one can bowl really well in the T20 format by using pace, variations and different grips.  We’ve got some really talented off-spinners and they bowl really well and we’ve got leg-spinners in our team as well. I am trying to help them as much as I can.” 
The South African also spoke about the importance of leg-spinners in a cricket team. 
“The art of leg-spin is a very exciting part of cricket. A leg-spinner can pick up two-three wickets in the middle and that’s very effective. Each team needs to have a good crop of leg-spinners as they are seen as the game changers. Even if you look at the top T20I bowlers in the ICC rankings, it’s dominated by leg-spinners. The top five in the list – Wanindu Hasaranga, Tabraiz Shamsi, Adam Zampa, Adil Rashid and Rashid Khan – are all leg-spinners. The game of cricket has changed over the years and it’s great to see leg-spinners performing well all over the world,” said Tahir. 
Dambulla Giants’ leg-spinner Madushan Ravichandrakumar expressed that he is looking to learn a lot from Imran Tahir during the Lanka Premier League, “He is my role model. When I used to watch his matches, I used to eagerly wait for him to come on to bowl to learn from him. He has a lot of variations such as leg-spin, googly, flipper, top spin and his own kind of variations so I am trying to learn those from him. He opens his heart and he is always honest with his bowling and he is a great person to learn from. He’s a good mentor.” 

LPL-Uncap

Chris Gayle, Faf du Plessis, Shoaib Malik, Imran Tahir picked in Lanka Premier League 2021 ‘Player Draft’

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The franchises of the Lanka Premier League confirmed the make-up of their squads in the Lanka Premier League 2021 ‘Player Draft’ on Tuesday. Each of the five franchises which include Colombo Stars, Dambulla Giants, Galle Gladiators, Jaffna Kings and Kandy Warriors have packed their teams with a host of explosive and international cricket stars.

The Colombo Stars will receive the services of Chris Gayle, Dushmantha Cheemara, Ahmed Shehzad, Dilshan Munaweera, Mohammad Irfan, Al Amin Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Pathum Nissanka Silva, Lakshan Sandakan, Seekkuge Prasanna, Manpreet Singh, Gihan Rupasinghe, Lahiru Gamage, TM Sampath, Nuwanidu Fernando, Jehan Kieth Zeon Daniel, Malindu Maduranga, Nalin Priyadarshana, Hashan Dumindu Ranasinghe and Kanagarathinam Kabilraj.

Meanwhile, the Dambulla Giants have picked Imran Tahir, Dasun Shanaka, Rilee Rossouw, Chamika Karunaratne, Sohaib Maqsood, Odean Smith, Josh Little, Niroshan Dickwella, Nuwan Pradeep, Ramesh Mendis, Najibullah Zadran, Tharindu Ratnayake, Lahiru Udara Igalagamage, Sacha DeAlwis Seneveratne, Muditha Lakshan, Kalana Perera, Sachitha Jayathilake, Madushan Ravichandrakumar, Janith Liyanage and Chamikara Edirisinghe.

The Galle Gladiators have acquired Mohammad Hafeez, Isuru Udana, Tabraiz Shamsi, Kusal Mendis, Mohammad Amir, Samit Patel, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Danushka Gunathilaka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dhananjaya Lakshan, Anwar Ali, DH Ashan Pulina Tharanga, Nuwan Thushara, Lahiru Madushanka, Dilshan Madushanka, Ashian Daniel, Kevin Koththigoda, Mohammed Shamaaz, Suminda Lakshan and Angelo Jayasinghe.

While the Jaffna Kings have picked up Faf du Plessis, Thisara Perera, Wahab Riaz, Wanindu Hasaranga, Shoaib Malik, Usman Shinwari, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Avishka Fernando, Upul Tharanga, Chaturanga de Silva, Jayden Seales, Suranga Lakmal, Ashen Bandara, Maheesh Theekshana, Chamika Gunasekara, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Theivendiram Dinoshan, Ashan Randika, Rathnaraj Thenuradan and Wijesuriya Arachchige Krishan Sanjula.

The Kandy Warriors have acquired the services of Rovman Powell, Charith Asalanka, Cameron Delport, Lahiru Kumara, Mohammad Mithun, Nazmul Islam Apu, Mehedi Hasan Rana, Angelo Perera, Asela Gunaratne, Milinda Siriwardana, Amjad Khan, Ishan Jayaratne, Binura Udara Fernando, Kamindu Mendis, Kamil Mishara, Ayana Siriwardene, Nimesh Vimukthi, Udara Jayasundara, Shashika Dulshan and Kalhara Senarathna.

A total of 600 players, consisting of 300 overseas and 300 Sri Lankan players featured in the ‘Player Draft,’ which was organized virtually with the participation of five franchise owners and the SLC officials. The draft consisted of 20 rounds, covering several player categories, such as ‘Local and Overseas Icon Player’, ‘Local and Overseas Diamond Player’, ‘Local and Overseas Gold Player’, and ‘Local and Overseas Classic Player’. And there was also the ‘Local Emerging’ and ‘Supplementary Local’ rounds focusing on selecting Sri Lanka’s young talent.

Speaking about the Lanka Premier League ‘Player Draft’, Mr Anil Mohan, Founder and CEO of Dubai-based production giant IPG, the official promoter of LPL, said, “It gives me immense pleasure to see so many international cricketing stars being part of various Lanka Premier League teams. No tournament can be successful without big stars and we are absolutely blessed to have some of the best cricket players from around the world in LPL. Each of the franchises have picked well-balanced sides which will make the second edition of the tournament very interesting.”

The Lanka Premier League 2021 is set to be held from 05th December 2021 to 23rd December 2021.