B – Love Kandy is set to begin their LPL 2023 journey against Colombo Strikers on the 31st of July at R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo.
History
| Year | Matches | Wins | Losses | No Result | League Stage Standing | Final Standing |
| 2020 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 5th | 5th |
| 2021 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 5th | 5th |
| 2022 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 1st | 3rd |
| Total | 26 | 11 | 15 | 0 | ||
The Kandy franchise is the only team to have four different owners and team names in the Lanka Premier League Kandy Tuskers in 2020, Kandy Warriors in 2021 and Kandy Falcons in 2022 before being changed to B – Love Kandy for this season.
The first couple of seasons were disappointing for Kandy before being made a dramatic turnaround in the previous season with the arrival of star leg spinner Wanindu Hasaranga. After finishing the first round as the table-toppers, their two heartbreaking losses in the playoffs saw them being knockout of the tournament.
The Kandy side was led by three different players in the last three seasons – Kusal Perera, Angelo Perera and Wanindu Hasaranga. However, the Skipper in the last season, Hasaranga remained as same for this season too.
Key Players
Before the player auction, they signed up Wanindu Hasaranga and veteran Angelo Mathews as their local pre-signings while Pakistani top order batter Fakhar Zaman and the Afghanistan mystery spinner Mujeeb Ur Rehman became their pre-overseas signings.
In the inaugural auction, the Kandy franchise picked some of the big local players when they bought Sri Lanka’s current leading pacer Dushmantha Chameera, experienced wicketkeeper batter Dinesh Chandimal, Isuru Udana, Nuwan Pradeep, Kamindu Mendis and Ashen Bandara. Apart from them, they have also bought some of the upcoming local stars, with the likes of Sahan Arahchige, Navod Paranavithana, Thanuka Dabarea and Malsha Tharupathi.
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Some of the best Pakistani players became their overseas picks in the auction – Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Hasnain, Asif Ali and Aamer Jamal. However, Asif Ali’s participation in this season is uncertain and he has been replaced by Pakistani experienced wicketkeeper and former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed.
When focusing on their batting depth, Zaman has smashed 5500 runs in 214 T20 games while Haris’ strike rate of 148.54 in this format will be another plus point for them. The two Veteran batters Mathews and Chandimal has some experience too in this format with more than 180 games apiece. From the current squad, Chandimal has scored 810 runs as the third-highest run-getter in LPL history while Kamindu Mendis and the Skipper Hasaranga has also scored over 300 runs in the LPL.
On the other hand, B – Love Kandy has a better combination of spinners in their camp. The Skipper Hasaranga is the highest wicket-taker in LPL history with 38 scalps at an economy of 6.12 which included the one & only hat trick in LPL history as well. Right-arm seamer Nuwan Pradeep is sitting on the 3rd place in the bowling chart with 29 wickets while Chameera has also amongst the top 10. With the experience of Mujeeb, their bowling attack is having so much confidence, where the Afghan mystery spinner has captured 236 wickets while playing in various franchise leagues around the globe.
Squad
Wanindu Hasaranga (c), Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Fakhar Zaman, Angelo Mathews, Isuru Udana, Dinesh Chandimal, Mohammad Hasnain, Dushmantha Chameera, Sahan Arachchige, Ashen Bandara, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Mohammad Haris, Navod Paranavithana, Kamindu Mendis, Nuwan Pradeep, Chathuranga De Silva, Lahiru Madushanka, Malsha Tharupathi, Lasith Abeyratne, Thanuka Dabare, Aamer Jamal, Avishka Tharindu
Fixtures
| Against | Date | Venue | Time |
| Colombo Strikers | 31st July | R. Premadasa (Colombo) | 7.30 PM |
| Galle Titans | 1st August | R. Premadasa (Colombo) | 7.30 PM |
| Dambulla Aura | 4th August | Pallekele | 3.00 PM |
| Jaffna Kings | 5th August | Pallekele | 7.30 PM |
| Galle Titans | 8th August | Pallekele | 3.00 PM |
| Jaffna Kings | 12th August | R. Premadasa (Colombo) | 3.00 PM |
| Colombo Strikers | 13th August | R. Premadasa (Colombo) | 7.30 PM |
| Dambulla Aura | 14th August | R. Premadasa (Colombo) | 7.30 PM |
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