SLC Terminates Colombo Kings And Dambulla Viiking Franchises Of LPL

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has approved the termination of two franchises of the Lanka Premier League (LPL)- Dambulla Viiking and Colombo Kings. This termination came after IPG, the rights holders of the LPL recommended dropping the two teams because of defaulted payments and other allegations.

Owners of the Colombo Kings and the Dambulla Viiking have terminated their relationship with the tournament, which each group was contractually allowed to do. The franchises respectively owned by Saza Group of Murfad Mustafa of Dubai, and by Telugu Warriors Company of Sachin Joshi of India respectively, have been wiped off the LPL roaster.

Dambulla Viiking and Colombo Kings had finished as the top two teams in the league stage of the 2020 edition of the LPL but ended up losing in the semifinals of the tournament. Ravin Wickramaratne, the SLC vice-president in charge of the LPL, told ESPNCricinfo that their withdrawals will not change the plans of the tournament which is slated to run from July 30 to August 22.

I’ve Received Other Potential Franchisees: Ravin Wickramaratne

Cricbuzz has reported that the two franchises parted ways with LPL because of financial matters. In one case, the league official revealed, a cheque had bounced. Wickramaratne also confirmed that the 2021 edition will have five teams, though there were rumblings of a sixth team entering the fray.

“With the 2nd edition of the LPL set to commence shortly, the exclusive rights holder of the event, the Innovative Production Group FZE (IPG) has decided to terminate the ownership of the franchises of Colombo Kings and Dambulla Viiking for the reason of non-compliance,” the Lanka board said in a statement on Saturday (June 26).

“Accordingly, the Innovative Production Group FZE (IPG) has received multiple requests from many interested parties and in compliance with the contractual obligation of the IPG and Sri Lanka Cricket, for the said League, as well as in keeping with the requirement of the International Cricket Council (ICC), have submitted all KYC documents for approval to finalise the new set of owners for the said teams,” the SLC statement added.

As with the first edition, the entire tournament is scheduled to be played at Sooriyawewa (Hambantota) to make a biosecure bubble easier to maintain.

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