IPL faces new crisis over SLC's NOC snub

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) will reportedly be holding fitness tests for some of its players who would play in the upcoming IPL season. They would issue an NOC only after the fitness tests are conducted.

The IPL 2026 season will mark the 19th edition of the competition, with the ten franchises taking part in the competition. Sri Lankan players have struggled with fitness concerns since the T20 World Cup, as many of the marquee players were ruled out mid-season.

Sri Lanka did not manage to reach the knockouts of the competition, as the players were snubbed from the competition midway. Pathirana and Hasaranga were both ruled out of the competition, while the other two were not part of the squad for the WC.

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SLC to conduct pre-IPL fitness tests for players

The SLC will be holding fitness tests for some of its players early this week in Colombo. They would only be deciding to issue them a No Objection Certificate for their participation in the upcoming edition of the IPL.

Several Sri Lankan players will be part of their Indian Premier League franchises in the upcoming edition. The Kolkata Knight Riders, the Delhi Capitals, the Lucknow Super Giants, and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru picked many such players in the mini-auction or retained them after the previous season.

"There are fitness tests scheduled by SLC on Monday and Tuesday, and we will know about their players only after that," said officials of multiple IPL franchises.

However, the likes of Dusmantha Chameera and Pathum Nissanka from the Delhi Capitals and Kamindu Mendis from the Sunrisers Hyderabad camp are among other Sri Lankan players who will feature in the season from the 28th of March without any tests.

Four Sri Lankan players to undergo fitness scans

As of now, the reports have suggested that four players from the Sri Lankan team will undergo these tests and then will receive an NOC for participating in the upcoming IPL season.

The four players include Matheesha Pathirana, the former CSK pacer who was bought for a whopping INR 18 crores by the Kolkata Knight Riders. Secondly, it includes Wanindu Hasaranga from the Lucknow Super Giants camp. The participation of these players is under massive uncertainty.

The other two names on this list include the likes of Eshan Malinga from Sunrisers Hyderabad and Nuwan Thusara from the Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The franchises are confident that SLC will grant the NOCs after the tests are successfully conducted.

Captains Meet and Shoot finalized on March 25

The BCCI had recently confirmed that the annual captain and coaches meeting ahead of the upcoming season will be held on the 25th of March. The meeting and shooting will be held between 12 noon and 6 pm on that day.

The BCCI considered proposing to advance the meeting by a day; however, the franchises were not ready for this. Hence, it was settled for the 25th of March. The meeting is conducted as the BCCI discusses the changes to playing conditions and introduces new rules, if any, for the upcoming season to the participating franchises.

Last time it was in this meeting that the decisions, like a change in ball and expansion of the DRS rules, were communicated to the franchises.

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