Vijay Shankar has signed for Kandy Royals for the upcoming season of the Lanka Premier League (LPL).
Vijay Shankar signs for LPL side Kandy Royals
The 35-year-old all-rounder recently announced his retirement from Indian domestic cricket to make himself eligible to play overseas franchise leagues. BCCI’s rules state that active Indian domestic and IPL cricketers are not allowed to feature in overseas T20 leagues.
Shankar featured in 12 ODIs, scoring 223 runs at 31.85 and taking four wickets, and nine T20Is, where he scored 101 runs and picked up five wickets, for India between March 2018 and June 2019.
He was also part of India’s squad for the 2019 World Cup and picked up a wicket off his first delivery at the event, getting the better of Imam-ul-Haq. However, he suffered a toe injury during training and was subsequently ruled out of the World Cup after making three appearances.
Having last played international cricket for India in 2019, Shankar registered himself as an uncapped player for the IPL 2026 auction but went unsold. His last domestic appearance in India was in the Ranji Trophy for Tripura, where he scored a career-best 151* against Gujarat.
LPL 2026 to start on July 17
The 2026 LPL season is scheduled to be played from July 17 to August 8, marking its return after two years. Vijay Shankar’s Kandy Royals will begin their campaign on July 18 against Dambulla. The player draft for the upcoming season is scheduled to be held on July 1.
The 2025 edition of the tournament was initially set to be played in November-December of the year, but Sri Lanka Cricket postponed it to ensure there was "full focus on ensuring comprehensive venue readiness” for the T20 World Cup, which Sri Lanka co-hosted with India.
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