Gilchrist confirms IPL role

Adam Gilchrist © Getty Images

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Australia wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist has confirmed he will take part in the Indian Premier League in April.

Gilchrist announced his retirement from international cricket during the fourth Test against India, which finished in a draw on Monday, but will don the gloves once more having agreed to play in the lucrative Twenty20 competition.

The 36-year-old, whose final appearances for Australia will come in the upcoming Commonwealth Bank one-day series, will line-up alongside former international team-mates Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath in the IPL, a tournament sanctioned by the International Cricket Council.

A host of current Australia internationals have also signed up but their participation is in doubt due to the tour of Pakistan which runs at the same time.

“I'm signed up like most of our players have," said Gilchrist. "I see it as an amazing entertainment package.

"I was a bit of a traditionalist, and wasn't so sure about this short version of the game.

"But over time, and having played more of it and seen the way it works, I've realised it's an important part of the cricket structure now.

“It is entertainment and I feel like I've tried to be entertaining all through my career, but I've done the real serious hard yards and enjoyed that and loved all the sweat and the tears and the laughter.

"I hear guys talk about World Series Cricket and how exciting it was to be a part of that," he said.

“I see this IPL situation being very similar to that. Who knows where it could grow to? To be part of that founding group would be a huge thrill."