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Lanka Premier League

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Lanka Premier League
Logo of Lanka Premier League
CountriesSri Lanka
AdministratorSri Lanka Cricket
FormatTwenty20
First edition2020
Latest edition2024
Next edition2025
Tournament formatDouble Round-robin and playoffs
Number of teams5
Current championJaffna franchise (4th title)
Most successfulJaffna franchise (4 titles)
Most runsAvishka Fernando (1,544)[1]
Most wicketsWanindu Hasaranga (72)[2]
Websitelankapremierleaguet20.com
Tournaments

The Lanka Premier League (abbreviated as LPL; Sinhala: ලංකා ප්‍රිමියර් ලීග්, Tamil: லங்கா பிரீமியர் லீக்) is a professional franchise cricket league established in 2020 in Sri Lanka. Matches are played using the Twenty20 cricket format by five teams named after Sri Lankan cities.[3][4] The league was intended to commence in 2018, but repeatedly postponed by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).[5] The inaugural edition took place in 2020 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of 2024, there have been five seasons of the tournament.[6] The current title holder team is Jaffna Kings, who won their fourth title in the 2024 Lanka Premier League by defeating Galle Marvels in the final.[7]

History

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The first season of the league was initially planned to be held from 18 August to 10 September 2018,[5][8][9] but this was postponed multiple times due to administrative issues within Sri Lanka Cricket.[10][11][12] In June 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, SLC announced the tournament would start on 28 August 2020,[13][14] with 70 overseas players showing an interest in playing in the league.[15] In August 2020, Ravin Wickramaratne, the Vice President of SLC was officially appointed as the director of the tournament.[16] After being rescheduled due to pandemic related restrictions, the first season began on 26 November 2020.

In May 2022, Samantha Dodanwala was officially appointed as the LPL tournament director.[17] The third edition was scheduled to take place in August 2022, but due to the ongoing Sri Lankan economic crisis and the resultant 2022 Sri Lankan protests, was postponed despite the player draft having already been held.[18]

Teams

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Locations of Lanka Premier League teams

Current teams

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Team City Debut Captain Head Coach Owner
Colombo Strikers Colombo, Western Province 2023 Thisara Perera Carl Crowe SKKY Group
Dambulla Sixers Dambulla, Central Province 2024 Mohammad Nabi Rangana Herath Sequoia Consultants
Galle Marvels Galle, Southern Province 2024 Niroshan Dickwella Graham Ford Cricket Marvels LLC
Jaffna Kings Jaffna, Northern Province 2021 Charith Asalanka Avishka Gunawardene Lyca Mobile
Kandy Falcons Kandy, Central Province 2022 Wanindu Hasaranga Piyal Wijetunge —

Franchise history

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Franchise
(Owner) 		City 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Colombo Colombo, Western Province Colombo Kings
(Murfad Mustafa) 		Colombo Stars
(Softlogic Holdings) 		Colombo Strikers
(SKKY Group)
Dambulla Dambulla, Central Province Dambulla Viiking
(Sachiin Joshi) 		Dambulla Giants
(Qamar Khan) 		Dambulla Aura
(Viranjith Thambugala) 		Dambulla Sixers
(Sequoia Consultants)
Galle Galle, Southern Province Galle Gladiators
(Nadeem Omar) 		Galle Titans
(Nayana Wasalathilake) 		Galle Marvels
(Cricket Marvels LLC)
Jaffna Jaffna, Northern Province Jaffna Stallions
(Anandan Arnold; Rahul Sood) 		Jaffna Kings
(Lyca Mobile)
Kandy Kandy, Central Province Kandy Tuskers
(Sohail Khan; Abbas Muni) 		Kandy Warriors
(Ravi Gupta, Pankaj Tripathi) 		Kandy Falcons
(Parvez Khan) 		B-Love Kandy
(B-Love Network) 		Kandy Falcons

Organisation

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Player acquisition, squad composition and salaries

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In the league's first three seasons, teams chose players using a draft system, having previously had the opportunity to sign a limited number of players directly.[19] For the 2023 season, an auction was introduced. Each franchise was allowed to directly sign two local players and two overseas players ahead of the auction. Each franchise operated with a salary cap of US$1 million, US500,000 of which could be spent on direct signings with the remaining spent in the auction.[20]

Governing Council

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Sri Lanka Cricket, which is responsible for all elements of the tournament, established a governing council to administer the league. Members of the governing council include Sri Lanka Cricket CEO Ashley de Silva. The marketing and organisation rights to the LPL were awarded to an Indian-owned Dubai-based company, Innovative Production Group (IPG) in 2020.[21]

Finances

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The inaugural edition of the league reached a cumulative audience of 557 million through TV, digital-social media and traditional media.[22] According to the 2021 Annual Report of Sri Lanka Cricket, The league generated revenue of LKR334 million in 2020, LKR463 million in 2021, LKR839 million in 2022.[23][24]

Franchise Valuation
Jaffna Stallions US$3.98 million
Galle Gladiators US$3.82 million
Dambulla Viiking US$3.54 million
Colombo Kings US$3.44 million
Kandy Tuskers US$3.19 million

Source: Newswire.lk, June 2021

Revenue analysis
Season Revenue (LKR mil) YoY revenue growth No. of matches Revenue per match (LKR mil) YoY revenue per match growth (LKR) Revenue per match (€ thousands) YoY revenue per match growth (€)
2020 334 — 23 14.522 — 66.788[a] —
2021 463 38.62% 24 19.292 32.85% 85.766[b] 28.42%
2022 839 81.21% 34.958 81.20% 90.953[c] 6.05%
2023 831[25] (0.95%) 34.625 (0.95%) 102.940[d] 13.18%

Criticism

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Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe raised the issue of the need to regulate Lanka Premier League franchise owners and sponsors during the parliamentary adjournment debate on Sri Lanka Cricket's expenditure for the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup. Some of the 2023 Lanka Premier League sponsors included gambling companies and unauthorized foreign exchange trading platforms. Minister of Justice Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe claimed that B-Love Network, the owners of the Kandy franchise, is banned in Sri Lanka.[26]

Seasons

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Out of the five franchises that have played in the league, the Jaffna franchise has won three titles while the Kandy franchise has won only one title. Jaffna Stallions won the inaugural season, defeating Galle Gladiators by 53 runs in the final.[27][28][29] The following season, Jaffna Kings beat Galle by 23 runs[30] and in 2022 defeated Colombo Stars by 2 wickets to win their third consecutive title.[31]

Finals

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Season Final Player of the season
Winners Result Runners-up Venue
2020 Jaffna Stallions
188/6 (20 overs) 		Jaffna Stallions won by 53 runs
Scorecard 		Galle Gladiators
135/9 (20 overs) 		Mahinda Rajapaksa Stadium,
Hambantota 		Wanindu Hasaranga
(Jaffna Stallions)
2021 Jaffna Kings
201/3 (20 overs) 		Jaffna Kings won by 23 runs
Scorecard 		Galle Gladiators
178/9 (20 overs) 		Avishka Fernando
(Jaffna Kings)
2022 Jaffna Kings
164/8 (19.2 overs) 		Jaffna Kings won by 2 wickets
Scorecard 		Colombo Stars
163/5 (20 overs) 		R. Premadasa Stadium,
Colombo 		Sadeera Samarawickrama
(Jaffna Kings)
2023 B-Love Kandy
151/5 (19.5 overs) 		B-Love Kandy won by 5 wickets
Scorecard 		Dambulla Aura
147/4 (20 overs) 		Wanindu Hasaranga
(B-Love Kandy)
2024 Jaffna Kings
185/1 (15.4 overs) 		Jaffna Kings won by 9 wickets
Scorecard 		Galle Marvels
184/6 (20 overs) 		Rilee Rossouw
(Jaffna Kings)

Team playing records

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As of 17 July 2024
Teams Mat Won Lost Tie & W Tie & L NR Win%
Colombo franchise 45 21 23 1 0 0 47.78
Dambulla franchise 45 21 20 0 2 2 51.16
Galle franchise 47 17 27 2 0 1 39.13
Jaffna franchise 48 30 17 0 0 1 63.82
Kandy franchise 45 21 23 0 1 0 47.78

Source: CricInfo[32]

Notes:

  • Tie & W and Tie & L indicates the matches tied and then won by or lost by super over respectively.

Team's performance

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Season

Franchise
 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Colombo franchise SF 4th RU 5th 4th
Dambulla franchise SF 3rd 5th RU 5th
Galle franchise RU RU 4th 3rd RU
Jaffna franchise C C C 4th C
Kandy franchise 5th 5th 3rd C 3rd

Records

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As of 4 October 2024
Batting Records
Most runs Avishka Fernando (Jaffna, Dambulla) 1,544
Highest score Pathum Nissanka (Jaffna) 119 vs Kandy Falcons (9 July 2024)
Highest partnership Kusal Mendis & Rilee Rossouw (Jaffna) 185* vs Galle Marvels (21 July 2024)
Most fifties Avishka Fernando (Jaffna, Dambulla) 15
Most sixes Avishka Fernando (Jaffna, Dambulla) 78
Bowling Records
Most wickets Wanindu Hasaranga (Jaffna, Kandy) 72
Best bowling figures Wanindu Hasaranga (Kandy) 6/9 vs Jaffna Kings (17 August 2023)
Fielding Records
Most dismissals (wicket-keeper) Niroshan Dickwella (Dambulla, Colombo, Galle) 30
Most catches (fielder) Wanindu Hasaranga (Jaffna, Kandy) 34
Team records
Highest total Jaffna Kings 240/4 (20) vs Dambulla Aura (11 December 2022)
Lowest total Dambulla Giants 69 (14.1) vs Jaffna Kings (13 December 2021)

Broadcasters

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Country Channel Online Streaming
 Sri Lanka Monara TV
Star Sports 2
ThePapare TV 		Dialog ViU App
PEO Mobile App
ThePapare.com
 Australia Fox Sports —
 Bangladesh T Sports —
 India Star Sports FanCode
 New Zealand Sky Sport —
 Pakistan A Sports Tapmad
 South Africa — SYTX Sports
Rest of the world — Monara TV YouTube
SLC YouTube

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ exchange rate of 1 EUR = 217.4295 LKR used here for 2020 season.
  2. ^ exchange rate of 1 EUR = 224.9337 LKR used here for 2021 season.
  3. ^ exchange rate of 1 EUR = 384.3541 LKR used here for 2022 season.
  4. ^ exchange rate of 1 EUR = 336.3600 LKR used here for 2023 season.

References

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  1. ^ Most runs, Records in Lanka Premier League, CricInfo. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  2. ^ "Most career wickets". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  3. ^ "SLC optimistic about inaugural Lanka Premier League despite concerns over border reopening". Zee News. 2 July 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  4. ^ "Lanka Premier League 2020: Sri Lanka Cricket to confirm fixtures after decision on India series". The Sports Rush. 2 July 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Sri Lanka Cricket to launch Lankan Premier League 2018". ThePapare.com. 16 February 2018. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
  6. ^ "Series results". ESPNcricinfo. 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  7. ^ Records in Lanka Premier League ESPNCricinfo
  8. ^ "SLC set to relaunch Sri Lanka Premier League in August 2018; Nidahas Trophy to act as launch pad". FirstCricket. 19 February 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  9. ^ "Sunday Times – Cricket: Sri Lanka to launch LPL with five-year window in August–September". www.sundaytimes.lk. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  10. ^ "SLC shambles lead to postponement of Lankan Premier League". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  11. ^ "Lankan Premier League (LPL) postponed". ThePapare.com. 6 July 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  12. ^ "Lankan Premier League revival in the works – SLC secretary Mohan De Silva". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  13. ^ "Sri Lanka plan Lanka Premier League in August". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  14. ^ "Lanka Premier League to start on August 28". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  15. ^ "Lanka Premier League: Irfan Pathan in pool of 70 foreign players for draft". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  16. ^ "Sri Lanka Cricket Vice President Ravin Wickramaratne officially appointed LPL Tournament Director". cricketage.in. 10 August 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  17. ^ Samantha Dodanwela appointed LPL Tournament Director Thepapare.com Retrieved 4 May 2022
  18. ^ Fernando, Andrew Fidel (17 July 2022). "LPL 2022 postponed due to economic situation in Sri Lanka". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  19. ^ LPL Player Draft 2022 | Players List
  20. ^ LPL Season 4 to have IPL-style auction for the five squads
  21. ^ Tagore, Vijay (2 August 2020). "Indian-owned Dubai firm bags Lanka Premier League rights". Bangalore Mirror. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  22. ^ "LPL team valuation chart released : Jaffna tops with $3.98m". newswire.lk. Wire Digital Pvt Ltd. 23 June 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  23. ^ "Annual Report 2021" (PDF). srilankacricket.lk. Sri Lanka Cricket. 2023. p. 129. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
  24. ^ "Annual Report 2022" (PDF). Sri Lanka Cricket. 2023. p. 167. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
  25. ^ Fernando, Champika (1 September 2024). "SLC endure mixed fortunes in finances during 2023". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  26. ^ "Concerns over LPL 4 franchise ownerships". The Sunday Times. Wijeya Newspapers. 27 August 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  27. ^ "Jaffna claimed the madain title of LPL". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  28. ^ "Jaffna Stallions win inaugural Lanka Premier League with thumping final win over Galle Gladiators". SkySports. 16 December 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  29. ^ "LPL 2020 Finals : Jaffna Stallions wins Lanka Premier League title, beat Galle Gladiators in LPL Finals". InsideSport. 17 December 2020. Retrieved 17 December 2020.
  30. ^ "Avishka, Kohler-Cadmore fire Jaffna Kings to second successive LPL title". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 24 December 2021.
  31. ^ "Avishka, Samarawickrama lead Jaffna Kings to third straight LPL title". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  32. ^ "Lanka Premier League Cricket Team Records & Stats | ESPNcricinfo.com". Cricinfo. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
  33. ^ "Lanka Premier League Records". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
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