LPL likely to start from August 28 – Ashley de Silva

(FASTNEWS | COLOMBO) – Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is going to play Lankan Premier League (LPL) T-20 cricket tournament and expected to commence the tourney from August 28, said Chief Executive Officer of SLC Ashley de Silva yesterday. “We can now confirm the LPL tournament but dates have to be decided after discussions with the Government officials, considering the present situation of the country”.

The CEO of SLC also added that they are planning to include foreign players in this tournament and already negotiated with the respective cricket board’s.

Especially, the reopening date of the Bandaranaike International Airport will be a key factor to bring foreign players for this tournament which is going to be the first tournament involving foreign players. Ashley de Silva further said that the final decision about the exact period cannot be made without discussing the matter with medical authorities and Government officials.

The Sports Minister Dullas Alahapperuma has already given his approval to LPL and Premier League first-class tournaments. We had a plan to start the re-scheduled Premier League tournament from July 14 but it was postponed again. Especially if we play domestic or international tournament we have to get final clearance from the respective authorities and it’s a big responsibility.

Meanwhile, International Cricket Council (ICC) officially postponed the T-20 World Cup in Australia last Monday. It was scheduled to be held from next October but due to COVID-19 pandemic now it has been postponed.

ICC further added if Australia to host the T20 World cup in 2021, tickets will remain valid for fans who have already bought and will be automatically updated to reflect the new dates. The postponed Indian Premier League (IPL) is set to be played in UAE but dates have not been finalised yet and this was confirmed by IPL Chairman Brijesh Patel.

However, due to the postponement of the T20 World Cup, there would be a good possibility to bring more foreign players from all other nations for franchise tournaments such as IPL, LPL and Caribbean Premier League which is going to held from August 18 to September 10 in Trinidad and Tobago.

SLC is also looking to re-schedule the Premier League super eight and plate tournament after the General election which will be held on August 5.

“The re-scheduled dates are not confirmed yet but the match schedule will remains the same as earlier,” added a SLC tournament committee senior member.