Sri Lankan Government To Support LPL To Achieve IPL-Like Success

The Lankan Premier League (LPL) 2020 is slated to get underway from November 21 to December 13, 2020. All the 23 matches in the tournament will be held at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy and Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium in Hambantota, according to an official media release.

Sri Lanka’s Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Namal Rajapaksa has put his weight behind the tournament to make it an annual property like IPL. He said that the government will take every possible step to make the tournament big as it has already drawn attention of the local and international players.

Lankan Premier League is essential for the future

“The Lanka Premier League (LPL) is a tournament that will position Sri Lanka on the global sports map and has already attracted the attention of local and international sports spectators and the media. The government will extend all possible support to make LPL an annual sports property of Sri Lanka much on the lines of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in India,” he wrote in his personal blog.

“Following the success of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the possibility of holding such a tournament in Sri Lanka was much talked about for many years but unfortunately, it didn’t happen. But now, the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and the Ministry of Youth and Sports have been in discussions for weeks to make this tournament a reality as it is essential for the future of Sri Lankan cricket.”

The player draft for the tournament took place over the last few days as the contest is set to get underway from November 21.

The Lankan Premier League (LPL) 2020 is slated to get underway from November 21 to December 13, 2020. All the 23 matches in the tournament will be held at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy and Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium in Hambantota, according to an official media release.

In the Lanka Premier League, five franchisee teams, named after Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Dambulla and Jaffna, will compete in 23 matches over a 15-day period for the title. Along with all key current international players from Sri Lanka, 75 foreign players were a part of  the Players Draft to be picked by the five franchisees.

As of now, each of India, Australia, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the West Indies and South Africa have their own versions of franchise leagues.