SINGAPORE, (Reuters) – Former West Indian captain Brian Lara wants to take part in the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) next year after ending his three-year retirement from cricket recently.
Lara, 41, a former Wisden Cricketer of the Year and one of the finest batsman to play the game, retired from all forms of cricket after the 2007 World Cup in West Indies but returned in October to play in the Zimbabwe Twenty20 league.
“If I was to give myself a chance to play in the IPL, then I need to start now,” Lara told Cricinfo on Friday. “I am not going to say that I am ready for the IPL. The option is around the corner, and I have put my name in the hat.”
The 2011 IPL season will begin in April with an auction for new players scheduled for Jan 8 and 9 in Mumbai and Lara, who scored 11,953 runs in 131 test matches at an average of over 52, would attract the interest of most of the eight teams.
“I need to play cricket regularly from now till then to get fit and capable of doing justice to the game and to my form in such a highly competitive league.”
Lara has been playing with Zimbabwean side Southern Rocks after he said he failed to negotiate a deal with English county Surrey.