Can the IPL lure Lara?

Can the money, glitz, glamour (and the cricket of course) of the IPL entice 40-year-old Brian Lara out of retirement? The fourth IPL player auction is in a few months and, in the middle of a few laughs during a television appearance ahead of the Kolkata-Bangalore match, Lalit Modi told Lara that he should make himself available for sale. “Lara was always our first choice,’’ Modi said, ‘‘He was the first one I had approached when the IPL was conceived. Unfortunately, he was not available then (because of his ICL connections).”

Later, on Twitter, Modi said: "Spent the last 24 hours with Brian Lara in Kolkata. He is excited of the prospect to be available for IPL 4. Told him to get into training."

Lara, who quit international cricket after the 2007 World Cup, did not refuse. ‘‘Maybe it’s time for me to hit the gym again,” he said light-heartedly. ‘‘Maybe in four months I’ll be in a position to decide. It all depends on how my body reacts.”