Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Rajasthan Royals have announced the appointment of Kumar Sangakkara as the team's Director of Cricket. The Rajasthan-based franchise took to Twitter to share this news, hailing the former Sri Lanka cricketer as "legendary". "Adding some legendary to the #RoyalsFamily. #WelcomeSanga | #HallaBol | @KumarSanga2," read the caption on the tweet by Rajasthan. Team owner Manoj Badale had confirmed on Wednesday after Rajasthan shared their list of retained players ahead for IPL 2021 that Sangakkara will be joining as the new team director.
The 43-year-old expressed his excitement in response to the announcement, stating that he looked forward to working with the franchise.
"Thrilled to be on board and look forward to working with everyone. #HallaBol #RoyalsFamily," read the reaction from the former Sri Lanka captain.
Sangakkara is also the president of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). He has also been involved as a mentor with teams in T20 leagues, after retiring from international cricket.
The Rajasthan-based franchise recently announced the appointment of Sanju Samson as the team's new skipper. Former captain Steve Smith has been released from the squad ahead of IPL 2021 auctions.
Akash Singh, Anirudha Joshi, Ankit Rajpoot, Oshane Thomas, Shashank Singh, Tom Curran and Varun Aaron are the other players who have been released.
Rajasthan have traded Robin Uthappa to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in an all-cash deal.
Retained Players: Sanju Samson, Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Jos Buttler, Mahipal Lomror, Manan Vohra, Mayank Markande, Rahul Tewatia, Riyan Parag, Shreyas Gopal, Robin Uthappa, Jaydev Unadkat, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Anuj Rawat, Kartik Tyagi, David Miller, Andrew Tye.