Vijay Shankar heads to LPL after IPL retirement, signs with Kandy Royals

Just days after announcing his retirement from the Indian Premier League (IPL) and domestic cricket, Vijay Shankar has signed up with the Kandy Royals and will take part in the Lanka Premier League (LPL 2026). The tournament itself is scheduled to run from July 17 to August 8. Shankar, a former Tamil Nadu all-rounder who moved to Tripura in 2025, has played 12 ODIs and 9 T20Is for India since making his debut in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

Vijay Shankar to feature in LPL 2026

The former Tamil Nadu all-rounder is the latest to join the Kandy franchise. Kandy Falcons have been rebranded as Kandy Royals in 2026. To date, Vijay Shankar has taken part in just one T20 tournament so far – the IPL 2026. He has played 78 matches in the league for 4 teams – CSK, DC, SRH, and DC – in which he has amassed 1233 runs and 22 wickets from 78 matches.

Shankar, who made his First Class and List A debuts for Tamil Nadu in 2012, established himself as a dependable all-rounder by 2014-15. His rise as an all-rounder in domestic cricket led him to earn an India A call-up. While he made his IPL debut in 2014, his breakthrough season came in 2017, which earned him his T20I debut in March 2018 against Sri Lanka. A year later, he made his ODI debut against Australia in Melbourne and was also selected for the 2019 Cricket World Cup. That remains the biggest selection controversy.

Vijay Shankar Career Stats

Batting

Bowling

Lanka Premier League 2026 Schedule

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