Marnus Labuschagne, the Australian batsman, has expressed his desire to play in the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Marnus Labuschagne to Register for IPL 2021 Auction
The 26-year-old has hinted at registering for the IPL auction, which is set to take place on February 18 in Chennai.
Earlier in December 2020 when Australia were busy playing the Adelaide Test against India, Labuschagne talked about his dream of taking part in the IPL. He believed that he has a chance of getting picked after how he has performed in the last one and half years or so.
“I think so, I think so [will be registering for the IPL]. That will obviously be released really soonish anyway. You throw your name in the hat and see what happens. You know, like I’ve said that the IPL is a great competition. Personally, I would love to be part of it but, let’s see what happens,” Labuschagne said at a post-match interview of the BBL.
“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.
“You know the way my career has developed in the last year has been quite substantial. It’s gone real 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 had said.
Also read: How a new Player can register for IPL Auction?
Marnus Labuschagne’s Carrier
In the 2020-21 BBL, Labuschagne scored 176 runs at an average and strike-rate of 29.33 and 123.07 respectively. With his leg-breaks, he got 10 wickets at an economy rate of 8.58.
Overall, in just 18 Tests, the right-handed batsman has scored 1885 runs at an outstanding average of 60.80. He also has a decent average of 39.41 in his short ODI career so far.
IPL 2021 Schedule
According to some media reports, the 14th edition of the IPL is slated to be held in its original April-May window, but the venue and dates for IPL 2021 are yet to be announced by BCCI.
But BCCI treasurer Arun Singh Dhumal, last week, said that the board doesn’t even need to look at back-up overseas venues for hosting the next IPL as the Covid-19 situation is improving in India.
Dhumal told news agency PTI that BCCI is confident of hosting IPL 2021 in India unlike the previous edition, which was held in the UAE due to the pandemic.
“We are working on having the IPL in India and we are hopeful that we would be able to organize it. We are not even thinking of a back-up also at this point in time, we are wanting to do it here. India is probably safer than UAE at this point. Hopefully, the situation remains stable and keep improving and we will have it here,” Dhumal said.
