17 February 2018 07:01 am
This will substantially reduce SLC’s ability to attract foreign players. The LPL is scheduled for August 18 September 16, a period in which Sri Lanka got no international commitments.
But the tournament will clash with the CPL which is scheduled from August 8 to September 16, and the English domestic season ongoing throughout.
The LPL will feature six teams in its inaugural edition.
‘’The tournament will be known as 'Lankan Premier League (LPL)', and will be played from 18th August to 10th September, 2018’’, said the CEO of the SLC, Mr. Ashley De Silva.
SLC conducted their own T20 tournament, conceptualised on the lines of the highly successful Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2012, but crashed most dramatically in 2013 when each franchise was terminated after failing to pay the participation fee three weeks before the tournament was scheduled to begin.
One of the biggest drawback of the tournament was the absence of Indian players. The Indian cricket board banned their players taking part citing it’s a ‘private tournament’ but the board now seems to have got the nod from their wealthy neighbour to go ahead with the tournament. SLC is looking at teams from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and even England to compete, though no formal discussions are yet to be made.
Sri Lanka is the only ICC full member without a T20 league of their own. India has IPL, even though it’s not the oldest tournament in the world, it is certainly biggest T20 league on earth financially and otherwise.
The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) is currently second in terms of the number of people following the tournament and the Big Bash League (BBL) in Australia has been successful in filling stadiums.
West Indies has their own league in Caribbean Premier League (CPL) while Ram Slam T20 Challenge in South Africa and New Zealand’s Super Smash has been an important platform for their stars.