Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has announced that there will be no player auction for the upcoming sixth edition of the Lanka Premier League, with franchises set to assemble their squads through a player draft scheduled for March 22.
This marks a shift in team selection strategy for the tournament, with the draft system returning for the first time since 2022. The previous two editions of the LPL had featured traditional player auctions, but SLC has opted to revert to the draft format for the 2026 season.
The sixth edition of Sri Lanka’s premier domestic T20 competition was originally scheduled to be held in early December 2025. However, the tournament was postponed to ensure the readiness of venues ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, which will be co-hosted by Sri Lanka and India.
Following the rescheduling, SLC has confirmed that the LPL will now be played from July 8 to August 8, a window identified as the board’s preferred period for hosting the league.
 has announced that there will be no player auction for the upcoming sixth edition of the Lanka Premier League, with franchises set to assemble their squads through a player draft scheduled for March 22. ){kind=link}