Chetan Sakariya, Mukesh Choudhary to play in Queensland T20 league

Left-arm IPL pacers Chetan Sakariya (Rajasthan Royals) and Mukesh Choudhary (Chennai Super Kings) have been signed by Queensland Premier Cricket clubs. The Indian duo will play in the KFC T20 Max competition, train at the Bupa National Cricket Centre and join in with the Queensland Bulls pre-season preparations.

Sunshine Coast will host Sakariya while Wynnum-Manly will welcome Choudhary.

The duo will spend time in Brisbane next month as part of an exchange with the renowned MRF Pace Academy.

Player and coaching exchanges between the MRF Pace Foundation and Cricket Australia have been in place for more than 20 years, with the two Indian players marking the resumption of the relationship that was paused due to COVID.

The initial Australians who attended the first exchange in 1992 were Glenn McGrath and Paul Wilson, when the great Dennis Lillee was the head coach.

Sakariya, 24, made his debut for India last year in T20 and One Day Internationals in the series against Sri Lanka. Mukesh Choudhary was the breakthrough pacer for CSK in this year's IPL.

Both pacemen played in the most recent IPL tournament, where Rajasthan were beaten in the Final by Gujarat Titans.

Games will be played across three weeks from 18 August to 4 September. Brisbane Heat will keep open two contract spots on its 2022-23 list to provide opportunities for players who impress to potentially join the BBL club, but the Indian duo are unlikely to get No objection certificates to play in the BBL as the BCCI is unwilling to allow its players to compete in other countries' primary T20 leagues.