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Former Chennai Super Kings star all-rounder Vijay Shankar has now joined the Lanka Premier League after announcing his retirement from IPL. He is the third Indian player to be set to participate in the Lanka Premier League.
Vijay Shankar, once known as one of India’s emerging talents, has performed across all formats for India and was considered the backup to Hardik Pandya. When he participated in the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup, he was several times selected over batsmen like Ambati Rayudu.
However, his career saw a major decline since then and he never returned to the Indian team. However, after that, he continued to star in Indian cricket at the domestic level and represented several IPL franchises until 2025. He announced his retirement from Indian domestic cricket and IPL on May 22, 2026.
Vijay Shankar signs with Kandy Royals in Lanka Premier League
Delay after delay, and finally the sixth edition of the Lanka Premier League has been announced. The tournament will begin on July 17 and the player draft will take place on June 1. However, they have acquired some players in the pre-season draft.
According to reports, the players have been divided into four categories: Local Icon, Overseas Icon, Local Star and Overseas Star. With over 650 foreign players registering for the upcoming edition, former Indian all-rounder Vijay Shankar has been picked by a franchise.
Less than a week ago when he announced his retirement, Vijay Shankar had made his stance clear to explore global cricket and participate in multiple franchise leagues around the world. The LPL appears to be their first but not last such entry in a foreign league.
The 35-year-old player has been signed by Kandy Royals as an overseas star. Kandy Royals have also signed players like 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 soon after the 35-year-old player announced his retirement from Indian domestic cricket and the Indian Premier League (IPL), making a professional… pic.twitter.com/BFxzNTzfot
– Newswire (@NewswireLK) 26 May 2026
Which Indian players have played in LPL before the Tamil Nadu all-rounder?
Vijay Shankar ended his IPL career after poor performances with Chennai Super Kings in 2025 and lack of interest in his services in the IPL 2026 auction. The 35-year-old clearly doesn’t have much cricket left in India.
However, as per BCCI rules, active Indian cricketers who are registered with BCCI are barred from playing in foreign leagues. Therefore, early retirement is the only way out for Indian players like Shankar.
His next eye will be on Bangladesh Premier League, Canada T20 League, MLC, ILT20 and other global T20 leagues. Two other Indian players to feature in the LPL include Irfan Pathan and Munaf Patel, two fast bowlers who played for Kandy Tuskers.
International and domestic cricket career of Vijay Shankar
Born in Tirunelveli, the Indian all-rounder has represented the Tamil Nadu state team throughout his career. He scored 4253 runs in 77 first-class matches, while taking 43 wickets with the ball.
In his short white-ball career, he has played 112 List A and 159 T20 matches and scored 2790 and 2583 runs respectively, along with taking 73 and 38 wickets. However, while representing India between 2018 and 2019, he played 12 ODIs and 9 T20 matches for India.
With 223 and 101 runs and 4 and 5 wickets respectively, Shankar failed to make any major impact with bat or ball. He represented four IPL franchises CSK, SRH, DC and GT between 2014 and 2025, scoring 1233 runs in 78 matches and taking only nine wickets with the ball.
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