Texas Super Kings sign Imran Tahir after Ambati Rayudu withdraws from inaugural Major League Cricket

Texas Super Kings have signed South African leg spinner Imran Tahir for the inaugural edition of the Major League Cricket (MLC).

The announcement came days after Ambati Rayudu withdrew from the T20 tournament, citing personal reasons. The Texas-based franchise shared a special clip on Twitter to welcome Tahir. They captioned the post:

“Imran Tahir in yellow, again!”

The clip read:

“A veteran, legend, super king, spin sensation - Imran Tahir.”

For the uninitiated, Imran Tahir has played 27 matches for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), where he scalped 35 wickets. He was part of CSK’s winning teams in IPL 2018 and 2021. Overall, he has played 59 IPL games, picking up 82 wickets at an economy rate of 7.76.

Besides IPL, Tahir has played in several T20 tournaments around the world, including The Hundred, Pakistan Super League, Big Bash League, Bangladesh Premier League, etc.

The 44-year-old has scalped 469 wickets in 378 T20s so far at an economy rate of 6.98, including 10 four-wicket hauls and three fifers.

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Why Ambati Rayudu withdrew from the inaugural Major League Cricket?

Ambati Rayudu withdrew from the inaugural Major League Cricket following the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)’s proposal to introduce one-year cooling-off players for retired players before they can participate in overseas T20 leagues.

In a statement, the BCCI said:

"BCCI will formulate a policy for its players (including retired players) with respect to their participation in overseas T20 leagues.."

BCCI secretary Jay Shah said, as quoted by ESPNCricinfo:

"We'll come out with a policy to prevent the trend of pre-determined retirement. The office bearers will make a policy and send it back for approval."

Ambati Rayudu recently bid adieu to IPL ahead of the tournament final, where the Super Kings beat the Gujarat Titans (GT) by five wickets in a thriller to lift their fifth IPL trophy. It was Rayudu’s sixth IPL title as a player – three each with the Mumbai Indians (MI) and CSK.

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Texas Super Kings squad

International players: Faf du Plessis, Devon Conway, Mitchell Santner, David Miller, Daniel Sams, Gerald Coetzee, and Dwayne Bravo.

Draft players: Rusty Theron, Calvin Savage, Lahiru Milantha, Milind Kumar, Sami Aslam, Cameron Stevenson, Zia Shahzad, Saiteja Mukkamalla, and Cody Chetty.

Jio Cinema and Sports18 will provide live coverage of Major League Cricket 2023 in India.