Former Chennai Super Kings star all-rounder Vijay Shankar has now joined the Lanka Premier League after having announced his retirement from the IPL. He is the third Indian player gearing up to feature in the Lanka Premier League.
Once known as one of India's rising talents, Vijay Shankar featured across formats for India and was considered a backup for Hardik Pandya. At times he was picked over batters like Ambati Rayudu when he featured in the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup.
However, his career saw a major dip since then, and he never returned to the Indian team. However, after that, he continued to star domestically across Indian cricket and represented many IPL franchises till 2025. He announced his retirement from Indian domestic cricket and the IPL on the 22nd of May, 2026.
Delays after delays, and the sixth edition of the Lanka Premier League has finally been announced. The tournament starts from the 17th of July, and the player's draft will be held on the 1st of June. However, they have acquired some players in the pre-season draft.
According to reports, players are divided into four categories: Local Icon, Overseas Icon, Local Star and Overseas Star. With over 650 overseas players registering for the upcoming edition, Vijay Shankar, the former Indian all-rounder has been picked up by one of the franchises.
Less than a week back when he announced his retirement, Vijay Shankar had cleared his stance to explore global cricket and feature in several franchise leagues around the world. The LPL seems his first but not his last such entry into an overseas league.
The 35-year-old has been signed by the Kandy Royals as an overseas star. The Kandy Royals have also signed the likes of Wanindu Hasaranga (Local Icon), Angelo Mathews (Local Star) and Moeen Ali (Overseas Icon).
Former India all-rounder Vijay Shankar has joined Kandy Royals ahead of the upcoming 2026 Lanka Premier League season.The signing comes shortly after the 35-year-old announced his retirement from Indian domestic cricket and the Indian Premier League (IPL), ending a professional… pic.twitter.com/BFxzNTzfot
— NewsWire ?? (@NewsWireLK) May 26, 2026Which Indian players have featured in LPL before the Tamil Nadu all-rounder?
Vijay Shankar ended his IPL career after a poor stint with the Chennai Super Kings in 2025 and the lack of interest over his services in the IPL 2026 auction. The 35-year-old clearly did not have much cricket left in India.
However, as per the rules of the BCCI, active Indian cricketers who are registered with the BCCI are barred from playing in overseas leagues. Hence, a premature retirement is the only way out for Indian players like Shankar.
He would next be eyeing global T20 leagues like the Bangladesh Premier League, Canada T20 League, MLC, ILT20, and more. Two other Indian players to have featured in the LPL include Irfan Pathan and Munaf Patel, the two pacers who played for the Kandy Tuskers.
Vijay Shankar's career across international and domestic cricket
Born in Tirunelveli, the Indian all-rounder has represented the Tamil Nadu State team throughout his career. He has featured in 77 first-class matches, amassing 4253 runs while picking 43 wickets with the ball.
In a short white-ball career, he has played 112 List A and 159 T20 matches and has amassed 2790 and 2583 runs, respectively, with 73 and 38 wickets as well. However, representing India between 2018 and 2019, he played in 12 ODIs and 9 T20Is for India.
With 223 and 101 runs and 4 and 5 scalps, respectively, Shankar failed to create a major impact with either bat or ball. He represented four IPL franchises in CSK, SRH, DC, and GT between 2014 and 2025, ending up with 1233 runs across 78 matches and a mere nine wickets with the ball.
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