Got offers from two IPL franchises, reveals Wanindu Hasaranga

Sri Lanka leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga bowled fantastically well in the recently concluded limited-overs series against India. He constantly troubled the batters with his smart variations and his googly was hard to pick. Traditionally, Indians are known to play spin well but struggled big time to Hasaranga, who ended up with seven wickets in the T20Is and was named the Player of the Series.

Naturally, his exploits with the ball in hand didn’t go unnoticed as two Indian Premier League (IPL) teams approached him with offers ahead of the second half of IPL 2020, set to be held in the UAE. Apparently, the pitches during the remainder of the 31 games will assist the spinners and hence the two teams were trying to rope in the services of Hasaranga, who was mighty effective on the slow and sluggish pitches in Sri Lanka.

It was due to Hasaranga’s brilliance that Sri Lanka managed to win the T20I series. Hasaranga opened up on the offers from IPL franchises in a chat show with Sri Lanka veteran Lasith Malinga “Two IPL teams have approached me after the series against India. Getting a chance to play in the IPL is a big deal and, it’s my dream to feature in the IPL one day,” said Wanindu Hasaranga.

Sri Lanka will host South Africa for a limited-overs series starting from September 2. Although the matches conclude before the IPL, Hasaranga won’t take part in the UAE leg of the T20 extravaganza. The names of the two IPL teams have not been revealed but it seems one of them was Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), who are keenly looking for the replacement of Adam Zampa.