Five key cricketers are likely to be named as Sri Lankan local icon players for the forthcoming Lanka Premier League (LPL) T-20 tournament which is scheduled to be worked off from November 14 to December 6.
According to a senior official of SLC they are currently doing preparations for this tournament which is going to be the first tournament involving foreign players after lockdown period as Bangladesh series is also not confirmed yet. Lasith Malinga, Angelo Matthews, Thisara Perera, Dasun Shanaka and Kusal Janith Perera are likely to be named as the local icon players.
The tournament will feature 23 games and will be played at Sri Lanka’s three day/night international stadiums – Sooriyawewa, Pallekele and Dambulla. R.Premadasa Stadium will not be used as it is under reconstruction.
The five teams will be named after five cities – Colombo, Galle, Jaffna, Dambulla and Kandy. Each team will have six foreign players.
Meanwhile the player auction of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) will be held on October 1. SLC official further said about 150 top-notch cricketers including Chris Gayle, Darren Sammy, Darren Bravo, Shahid Afridi, Shakib-Al-Hasan, Ravi Bopara and Colin Munro are expected to play in the inaugural edition of the LPL. Afridi already has been named as icon internatiinal player of the Galle Gladiator team which is owned by a Pakistani while Moin Khan has been named as its coach.
Each franchise can buy up to six international players. A total of 30 international cricketers and 65 local cricketers are expected to make up the five teams. According to tournament sources, four Indian players are also likely to be part of the October 1 auction. They are most likely Munaf Patel, Praveen Kumar, Shadab Jakatim and Manpreet Ghoni.
