Left-arm pacers Chetan Sakariya and Mukesh Choudhary are all set to debut in the inaugural edition of the T20 Max series in Queensland, starting next month in Brisbane.
Notably, the talented youngsters will train at Cricket Australia’s National Cricket Centre in Brisbane and be involved in Queensland Bulls’ pre-season preparations as part of the old exchange programme with the Chennai-based MRF Pace Foundation, which had been paused because of Covid-19.
Both Sakariya and Choudhary have plied their trades in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 sides Delhi Capitals (DC) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK), respectively.
”Player and coaching exchanges between the MRF Pace Foundation and Cricket Australia have been in place for almost 20 years, with the two Indian players marking the resumption of the relationship that was paused due to COVID,” said Cricket Australia in a statement.
”The initial Australians who attended the first exchange in 1992 were Glenn McGrath and Paul Wilson when the great Dennis Lillee was head coach. McGrath subsequently took over as head coach following the end of his illustrious bowling career,” the statement added.
The T20 Max competition, which will run from August 18 to September 4, would see Sakariya representing Sunshine Coast while Choudhary shall play for Wynnum-Manly.
Apart from the Indian pace duo, the competition will witness many current or recent BBL contracted players such as Clint Hinchliffe (Melbourne Stars), Cameron Boyce, Jordan Silk, Nick Bertus (Sydney Sixers), Beau Webster, Nick Larkin, Josh Lalor (Melbourne Renegades), Ben Cutting, Arjun Nair (Sydney Thunder), Liam Guthrie, Chris Sabburg (Perth Scorchers), Ryan Gibson and Spencer Johnson (Adelaide Strikers), Jake Lehmann, Nathan McSweeney (Brisbane Heat), Nick Hobson.
