With less than three weeks to go for the scheduled start of the inaugural Lankan Premier League (LPL) – Sri Lanka’s premier franchise-style T20 competition, the much-awaited team names have been revealed.
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) announced on the 27th of July that LPL will commence on the 28th of August and the tournament will run until 20th September with 23 matches to be played in 4 international venues.
Franchise cricket – a step in the right direction
However, the final schedule, player draft details, franchise owners, broadcasters, sponsors have not been announced yet. As per a reliable source, SLC is still awaiting clearance from the health authorities on the quarantine procedure for the foreign players and crowd capacity of the venues.
The five team competition will see Colombo Super Kings, Galle Lions, Kandy Royals, Jaffna Sunrises & Dambulla Capitals battling it out in the first season, Sunday Times reported. The sixth and seventh teams will be entered in the competition from the second season onwards after seeing the success of the first season.
Last week, SLC has managed to strike a deal with Innovative Productions Group (IPG) to manage and conduct the tournament for five years.
SLC’s international production rights holder, IPG has reportedly agreed to pay a sum of US$ 1.925 million per year for the first two years. Thereafter the amount will be increased by ten per cent each year making it around US$ 11 million. SLC is also set to earn a 10 per cent cut from the value of the broadcasting and ground rights.
Inaugural Lanka Premier League to start on 28th August
SLC will be responsible for the production of the event, match officials’ payments, hiring of venues, security and legal fees, and prize money for the winner and runner-up, while IPG will be in-charge of the franchises, league and venue sponsorships, tickets and merchandises.
The franchise owners will make a profit through a share of central revenues (broadcast, sponsorship, gate and other), team sponsorships and franchise licensing and merchandising.
The fee structure for the players and coaches have also been decided by SLC.
| Category | No. of Players per team | Base Salary (USD) |
| Icon Player | 1 | 60,000 |
| International and Sri Lanka Players | 6 | 50,000 |
| SLC contracted Players | 8 | 10,000-50,000 |
| Under 19 Player | 1 | 5,000 |
| Head Coach | 1 | 10,000-20,000 |
| Support Staff | 9 | 5,000-15,000 |
 announced on the 27th of July that LPL will commence on the 28th of August and the tournament will run until 20th September with 23 matches to be played in 4 international venues.){kind=link}