Major League Cricket 2023: Texas Super Kings sign CSK legend to replace Ambati Rayudu 

The inaugural edition of Major League Cricket (MLC) kicked off on Friday (July 14) with a thrilling victory for the Texas Super Kings (TSK) against the Los Angeles Knight Riders (LAKR). Both team names will be familiar to cricket fans as they are the sister franchises of blockbuster Indian Premier League (IPL) teams – Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

Star cricketers from all over the world are competing in the professional T20 cricket league in the United States. Many former cricketers and current players of CSK and KKR are playing for their sister franchises in MLC 2023. Former CSK middle-order batter Ambati Rayudu also signed a deal with Texas, but he withdrew it a few days before the tournament owing to personal reasons.

“Ambati Rayudu will not be available to participate in the first season of the MLC with Texas Super Kings due to personal reasons,” CSK’s sister franchise Texas Super Kings said in a statement. “He will continue to cheer for the team from India,” the franchise added.

However, a day before the tournament opener, TSK announced the replacement of Rayudu, who retired from all forms of cricket after CSK’s fifth title win in IPL 2023. The franchise decides to replace the right-handed batter with another CSK veteran, which might surprise the fans. The Texas-based team has roped in former South African spinner Imran Tahir.

“Imran Tahir in yellow, again!” the MLC franchise wrote on their Twitter handle.

Check out the tweet below: 

Imran Tahir in yellow, again! 🦁💛#WhistleForTexas #MajorLeagueCricket pic.twitter.com/1otR72dbPK

— Texas Super Kings (@TexasSuperKings) July 12, 2023

Imran has played a key role for CSK in the past

Tahir is considered a CSK legend, having played a pivotal role for the Chennai-based franchise in the past. He was part of the team that won the championship in 2018 and 2021. The right-arm spinner has played 59 IPL matches and has taken 82 wickets. He made 27 appearances for CSK and scalped 35 wickets. The 44-year-old has played in several T20 leagues across the world, including the Pakistan Super League, Big Bash League, Bangladesh Premier League.

TSK is captained by former CSK opener Faf du Plessis and coached by Stephen Fleming, the current head coach of CSK. The squad also includes Devon Conway, Mitchell Santner and CSK bowling coach Dwayne Bravo.