West Indies swashbuckling batsman Chris Gayle and Sri Lankan great Lasith Malinga have pulled out of this year’s Lankan Premier League (LPL) due to their respective reasons.

Gayle had informed his LPL franchise Kandy Tuskers that he will be unable to fly to Sri Lanka due to an injury.

Tuskers took to their official Twitter handle and confirmed the news by writing,”We are sad to announce that Chris Gayle will not be playing for us in this year’s @LPLT20_”

We are sad to announce that Chris Gayle will not be playing for us in this year’s @LPLT20_ https://t.co/zI6RmJlXkQ

— Kandy Tuskers (@KandyTuskers) November 18, 2020

Malinga, on the other hand, had also withdrawn from the league a week before the commencement of the tournament citing lack of training and cricket this year as the reason behind his pull out.

Malinga, who played his last competitive match in March this year, was one of the marquee players of Galle Gladiators and expected to captain the side at this year’s LPL.

“Since the West Indies series early this year, I haven’t had any cricket, and there hasn’t been any training for me at all.When the draft happened last month, I thought there would be about three weeks of training before the LPL, but there has been nothing. They are only having us come to Hambantota this week, and even there they are asking us to do three days of quarantine,”ESPNcricinfo quoted Malinga as saying.

“It’s not easy for a bowler to play at a high level without training. At the LPL they also have matches on back-to-back days. So I decided not to play the tournament,” he added.

Besides the duo, England batsman Ravi Bopara, who was set to represent the Jaffna Stallions franchise, has also pulled out of the tournament.

Bopara had reportedly asked for his full payment before the event, which the franchise said that could not accomodate.

Meanwhile, the replacements for Gayle and Malinga are yet to be decided.

The Lankan Premier League (LPL) is slated to take place at the Sooriyawewa Stadium from November 26 to December 16.