Explosive Indian batsman Virender Sehwag is set to announce his retirement from all forms of international and IPL cricket after confirming he will take part in the inaugural Masters Champions League (MCL) in the UAE early next year.
Sehwag, who turns 37 today, was in Dubai last night attending a gala dinner for the MCL, which will feature six teams and be played in January and February 2016.
One of the mandatory requirements of playing in the MCL is that a player should have retired from all formats of international cricket.
Sehwag, the only Indian to score two triple centuries in Test matches and only the second player to make a double hundred in ODIs, is still playing first-class cricket, although his last match in Indian colours was against Australia in March 2013.
Sehwag said: “I am not playing international cricket. I am just playing first-class right now. So you can say that I am already retired from international cricket. But I have to announce my retirement officially. When I go back home after this, I will think about it and make a decision soon.”
Sehwag played for Kings XI Punjab in last year’s IPL and later admitted to The Quint that he will also end his IPL career. He added: “I’ll retire from international cricket and IPL so I will not be playing those leagues. I will play only MCL.”
Sehwag praised the concept of the MCL and added he was looking forward to playing against the likes of Brian Lara, Graeme Smith, Azhar Mahmood, Graeme Swann and Michael Vaughan – some of the other star names who were present during last night’s function.
“I think it is a great concept, and I like the fact that after playing against all these great players, there is a chance that a few of us will be picked up by the same franchise and we will get to play together,” said Sehwag.
“The good thing is that I am still playing first-class cricket, so I am in touch with the game. I am looking forward to it.
“Yeah…if some quick, fast bowler comes, then I will think about it. But after retirement, they will all try and bowl line and length, rather than pace, so it will be easy for me to smack them around.”
Zafar Shah, chairman of the MCL, said that the dates of the tournament have been advanced by a week in order to accommodate the Pakistan Super League (PSL), which is also taking place in the UAE.
“We reached an agreement with the PCB. We have advanced our dates to the last week of January and there will be an overlap of some matches,” said Shah. “We wanted cricket to be the winner.”
