Sri Lanka Postpones New T20 Cricket League

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) authorities have decided to postpone the country’s newly-proposed Twenty20 cricket league for an indefinite period which was likely to start from next month.

Moreover, they have also revealed that a new board will take the call on the revised dates.

Previously, The Lankan Premier League (LPL) was due to start on August 18. However, the interim management body decided to postpone it, SLC said in a statement.

“Sri Lanka Cricket wishes to inform that the LPL (T20) has been postponed indefinitely until an elected body is constituted at the SLC,” the statement said.

In May, Sri Lanka’s Court of Appeal suspended elections for the crisis-ridden cricket board. Sports Minister Faiszer Musthapha appointed a competent authority to run the board until elections take place within six months.

The Lankan government decided to scrap the election following a petition filed by a former secretary of SLC Nishantha Ranatunga. He argued that outgoing president Thilanga Sumathipala was unsuitable for re-election.

Sumathipala went against Ranatunga, a younger brother of Sri Lanka’s 1996 World Cup-winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga, during the election bid.

However, Ranatunga brothers accuse Sumathipala of violating International Cricket Council’s (ICC)  regulations by holding office despite alleged links to gambling.

Meanwhile, the Island Nation defeated South Africa by a massive margin of 278 runs in the first Test to go 1-0 up at the Galle.

The second and the final Test of the two-match series will commence from July 20 at Colombo.

Also read: Yuvraj Singh takes a dig at Rohit Sharma