Ryan McLaren, Mumbai Indians' last foreign signing, is more excited about playing alongside Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya than earning big bucks
Ryan McLaren, Mumbai Indians' last foreign signing, is more excited about playing alongside Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya than earning big bucks
The Indian Premier League (IPL) the biggest money-spinning cricket event in the world has presented an opportunity to foreigners to earn real big bucks.
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Normally, foreigners don't get paid as highly as their Indian counterparts. Some veterans like Jacques Kallis have gone on record saying it was the money that lured them to the Twenty20 extravaganza.
Experience counts
But McLaren is different.
"At the moment, all that I am looking forward to is to experience competing with and against seasoned international players. That matters more than anything else," McLaren, who along with Essex's Graham Napier completed the Mumbai Indians' quota of foreign recruits, told MiD DAY yesterday.
"Obviously, the financial side cannot be ignored. But I am not so worried about it now. I am gunning to gain the experience from watching the likes of Sachin (Tendulkar), Sanath (Jayasuriya), Shaun (Pollock) and others closely and learning from them."
McLaren, who could not make his international debut for South Africa since he wasn't released by Kent after being named in the squad for ODIs against Bangladesh and Kenya, is a useful T20 player. He proved it during the England's domestic T20 final when he claimed a hat-trick against Gloucestershire.
And he was over the moon when he was approached by the Mumbai Indians.
"After the initial talks with the franchise, I happened to learn that it was Shaun Pollock who suggested my name to the franchise," McLaren said. "This means as much as any other achievement to me."
Though McLaren hasn't toured India till now, he has competed against some of the IPL stars during the 2001-02 under-19 World Cup in New Zealand.
U-19 memories
"I remember getting the wicket of Irfan Pathan in the U-19 World Cup," McLaren recalled.
"I am sure some of the lads in that Indian team would have come through the system and it would be nice to meet them after a long gap."
Well, not just Pathan, but Siddharth Trivedi (Rajasthan Royals) and Parthiv Patel (Chennai Super Kings) who were also a part of the playing XI against South Africa seven years ago will be looking forward to one more clash with McLaren.
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