Vijay Shankar Joins Dublin Guardians for European T20 Premier League

Former India allrounder Vijay Shankar has joined Dublin Guardians for the inaugural European T20 Premier League (ETPL), marking his second franchise T20 league appearance since retiring from the IPL and Indian domestic cricket earlier this year.

Shankar will reunite with former Chennai Super Kings and domestic teammate R Ashwin, who has been appointed captain and mentor of the Dublin franchise. Former India captain and T20 World Cup-winning coach Rahul Dravid is also a co-owner of the team.

Vikram Rathour appointed head coach

Former India batting coach Vikram Rathour has been appointed Dublin Guardians' head coach. Rathour, who is currently part of the Rajasthan Royals support staff in the IPL, recently worked with Sri Lanka as a consultant batting coach.

Rathour will be assisted by former Ireland batter Ed Joyce as assistant coach, Mitchell McClenaghan as bowling coach and John Mooney as fielding coach.

The appointment gives Dublin a coaching setup with considerable international experience as the franchise prepares for the ETPL's inaugural season.

Daryl Mitchell joins Dublin's overseas contingent

New Zealand allrounder Daryl Mitchell will join Shankar as a direct overseas signing. USA bowling allrounder Harmeet Singh and Sanjay Krishnamurthi are also part of Dublin's overseas roster.

Shankar, Ashwin and Dravid share a long association dating back to local league cricket in Chennai in the early 2010s. Shankar also worked with Dravid during their time together in the India A setup.

Shankar continues franchise cricket after retirement

Since retiring from Indian domestic cricket and the IPL in May, Shankar has remained active in competitive cricket. He played local league cricket in Chennai before featuring for Kandy Royals in the Lanka Premier League.

In the 2026 LPL, Shankar played the role of a finisher and scored 150 runs in nine innings at an impressive strike rate of 145.63.

The allrounder represented India in 12 ODIs and nine T20Is, scoring 223 and 101 runs respectively. In domestic cricket, he was a key figure for Tamil Nadu and captained the side to titles in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Deodhar Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

Shankar later moved to Tripura and ended his domestic career on a high, scoring an unbeaten 151 against Gujarat in a Ranji Trophy victory in February.

Across formats, he finished with 4,253 first-class runs, 2,790 List A runs and 2,583 T20 runs, while also claiming 154 wickets in 348 matches.

In the IPL, Shankar represented Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Delhi Daredevils and Gujarat Titans. He was part of Sunrisers Hyderabad's title-winning campaign in 2016.

Dublin build strong squad

Dublin had already secured Benjamin Calitz, George Dockrell, Matthew Hollard, Craig Young, Noah Croes and Chris Greaves during the ETPL draft in June.

The franchise now boasts a squad featuring Ashwin, Shankar, Harry Tector, George Dockrell, James Vince, Daryl Mitchell, Muhammad Waseem and Josh Little among others.

ETPL set for August 26 start

The inaugural European T20 Premier League will be played from August 26 to September 20 across Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands.

The competition, launched in partnership with Cricket Ireland, Cricket Scotland and the Royal Dutch Cricket Association, will feature six franchises representing Dublin, Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Rotterdam and Amsterdam.

The ETPL is set to become Europe's first ICC-sanctioned multi-country franchise T20 league, with Dublin Guardians entering the tournament as one of the teams expected to attract significant attention given their blend of experienced international players and emerging talent.

Dublin Guardians squad

R Ashwin (captain), Vijay Shankar, Harry Tector, George Dockrell, James Vince, Daryl Mitchell, Muhammad Waseem, Noah Croes, Ben Calitz, Harmeet Singh, Josh Little, Matthew Hollard, Craig Young, Chris Greaves, Peter Hatzoglou, Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Chris Wood.