Vijay Shankar joins Kandy Royals in Lanka Premier League after IPL and domestic retirement

Former India all-rounder Vijay Shankar has signed for Kandy Royals ahead of the sixth season of the Lanka Premier League, days after announcing his retirement from Indian domestic cricket and the IPL. The 35-year-old is among the biggest overseas names confirmed before the player draft on June 1, in what is now the next phase of his career.

Having stepped away from India’s domestic circuit and the IPL, Shankar remains eligible to play franchise cricket overseas and has moved to a Kandy side that has already put together a strong core before the tournament. Kandy Royals have also signed Wanindu Hasaranga, Angelo Mathews and Moeen Ali as part of their marquee group ahead of the draft.

Tournament regulations allowed teams to sign a maximum of two overseas players along with two Sri Lankan marquee names before the main auction process. That framework has shaped the early build-up, with Kandy moving quickly to bring in Shankar as one of their overseas additions before the wider player pool comes into play.

The former Tamil Nadu cricketer represented India in 12 ODIs and nine T20Is and was part of the squad for the 2019 ODI World Cup in England. His last appearance for India also came during that tournament. While his international career was brief, Shankar remained a steady presence in domestic cricket and franchise leagues because of his ability to contribute with both bat and ball. Across his domestic career, he played 77 First-Class matches, scored 4,253 runs and took 43 wickets. In the IPL, he featured in 78 matches and turned out for Sunrisers Hyderabad, Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings.

Shankar now joins a growing list of Indian cricketers who have retired from domestic cricket in order to continue in overseas T20 leagues, with Ambati Rayudu, Robin Uthappa and Dinesh Karthik having taken similar routes in recent years. The Lanka Premier League will run from July 17 to August 8 and feature five teams — Kandy Royals, Dambulla Sixers, Jaffna Kings, Galle Marvels and Colombo Strikers — with more than 650 overseas players reportedly registered for the draft pool.

Defending champions Jaffna Kings have signed Shakib Al Hasan, Dunith Wellalage and Bhanuka Rajapaksa ahead of the draft, while Dambulla Sixers have added Reeza Hendricks, Dinesh Chandimal, Dushmantha Chameera and Sahibzada Farhan among their marquee signings. For Shankar, the move to Kandy marks a clear break from the Indian domestic system, but not from the franchise game.