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An upset Shaheen Afridi was about to pack his bag and was set to return to Pakistan from Sri Lanka's T20 franchise league, the Lankan Premier League (LPL), after being dropped from the Kandy Royals' playing combination.
Kandy Royals assured Shaheen to included him as the 'Impact Player' for their match against Colombo Capitals. As it is reported, despite the assurance, the franchise shockingly dropped Shaheen Afridi entirely from the team.
Shaheen Afridi reported the matter to anti-corruption officials after being dropped from the Lankan Premier League team Kandy Royals.
The incident left the Pakistan T20I captain extremely disappointed, and as there were no valid reasons for dropping him from the playing combination, the fast bowler reported the matter to the anti-corruption official.
Shaheen Afridi reportedly was about to leave Sri Lanka and the franchise league on an immediate basis, but stayed for now as the franchise made and appology to him, and convinced him to stay with the team for the ongoing Lankan Premier League.
With the Impact Player rule, which was first introduced in the Indian Premier League (IPL) to add extra excitement in the franchise league, every franchise is allowed to make tactical moves. Using the rule, the franchises can make one change in the playing combination.
Shaheen Afridi was about to play as an impact sub player against the Colombo-based side in the LPL 2026 match, but could not play as his name was not mentioned in the team sheet.
Why did Kandy Royals prevent Shaheen Afridi from playing the match?
According to Pakistan's local media house, Tribune, during the middle of the first innings of the match, when Kandy was batting, the coach informed Shaheen Afridi that due to an unforced error, his name was not mentioned in the team sheet. Therefore, he would not be able to participate in the match.
Afridi was not convinced by the excuse and decided to leave the team and Sri Lanka as well immediately. The first thing he did was to report the incident to the anti-corruption unit, and then he was set to leave.
However, the star pacer stayed with the team after the franchise and the league organizers apologised to him. The Tribune report claimed that a spokesperson of the Lankan Premier League informed that the issue with Afridi occurred because of an incorrect team sheet, which was submitted to the referee. If the claims are to be believed, then as Afridi's name was not mentioned in the team sheet, the franchise was not able to put him into the match.
Allegations of match fixing over the Lankan Premier League
The ongoing LPL 2026 was in the headlines only a few days ago with allegations of match fixing involving former India Under-19 cricketer and the Indian owner of Jaffna Kings, Manjot Karla. Karla was arrested by Sri Lanka’s Special Investigation Unit on allegations of influencing cricketers ahead of a Jaffna Kings match.
The issue is currently under investigation. In the meantime, the organizers removed the former cricketer from the tournament. The situation is currently handled by Sri Lanka Cricket.
