Marnus Labuschagne, who is regarded as Australian batting sensation and played a shaky but crucial 47-run knock versus India in the first innings of the first Day-Night Test match in Australia, has expressed his desire to play in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The 26-year-old batsman has pointed out that he has been interested in the extravagant IPL for a “long time” now and would love to feature in it when the opportunity comes his way. He averages more than 60 in 15 Tests so far and has a bright career ahead of him.
Marnus Labuschagne Interested In IPL For A Long Time
Players like Tamim Iqbal, Adil Rashid, Josh Hazlewood and Joe Root haven’t featured in IPL yet, but may soon get a place in future IPL as the number of teams is slated to increase to 10 from 8 in either 2021 or 2022.
Likes of Carlos Braithwaite, Martin Guptill, Tim Southee, Evin Lewis, Colin De Grandhomme and Ben Cutting went unsold in IPL 2020 while a few others like Anrich Nortje, Daniel Sams, James Pattinson and Adam Zampa initially went unsold but were picked as replacements for injured cricketers or those who opted out.
“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,” Labuschagne said in an interview with Cricbuzz.
Marnus Labuschagne was among few of the other high-quality cricketers including England Test team captain Joe Root who did not feature in the IPL 2020 which recently concluded in November at UAE.
Marnus Labuschagne Debuted In Tests Against Pakistan As Concussion Substitute
Marnus Labuschagne made his international debut in a Test match against Pakistan in 2018. The Australian came into his side’s playing XI after an in-form Steve Smith was hit on the helmet by a Jofra Archer bouncer during the Lord’s Test of the Ashes series. Marnus Labuschagne was the first-ever concussion substitute in the Test cricket.
He has scored 4 Test centuries in amassing above 1500 Test runs, 3 of which came in consecutive innings. In his 13 ODIs, Marnus Labuschagne has scored 473 runs at an average of 39.41. He has one ODI ton besides his name. The right-hander is yet to make his T20I debut.