Sri Lanka name 56 foreign players for SLPL

Sri Lanka Cricket has named 56 foreign players who will play in the inaugural Sri Lanka Premier League. There are no India or England players - apart from Azhar Mahmood - among the 56, who were picked by the seven franchises via a draft system in Colombo on Thursday. 

Shahid Afridi* was originally supposed to be the icon player for Nagenahira but all the franchises wanted to make sure their icon players were available throughout the tournament. Due to the recently announced Australia-Pakistan series that starts on August 28th, Afridi would potentially miss the semi-finals and finals of the SLPL if his team made it that far, leaving Nagenahira without their icon player at the business end of the tournament. With the agreement of the other franchises, Afridi was released by Naganahira in to the draft, where he was subsequently signed by Ruhuna. Lasith Malinga remains Ruhuna's icon, while Nagenahira's icon player will be named on Friday.

Sri Lankan Premier League to go ahead without India

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka Cricket will push ahead with its inaugural premier league with Australian and Pakistani players, despite a no-show by Indian stars, the island's sports minister said Sunday.

"We will lose a bit of money because Indian players are not coming but the tournament will be played as planned," Mahindananda Aluthgamage said after failed talks to bring the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on board.

Fast bowlers Praveen Kumar and Munaf Patel were among 12 Indian players who were blocked by the BCCI from playing in the T20 tournament in Sri Lanka from July 19 to August 4.

PCB may stop Afridi from playing in SLPL

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has said it can ban Shahid Afridi from participating in the inaugural Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) if the former Pakistan captain doesn't stop his rants against the board. 

Earlier this month, the PCB granted Afridi a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to play for Hamp shire in English Twenty20 league after their bitter dispute was settled out of court.

But Afridi's continued tirade has irked the PCB and some top officials are not in favour of granting him an NOC to play in SLPL to be held in Colombo during July-August.

Quoting an unnamed PCB official, Express Tribune reported on Thursday that the Board will not hesitate in taking action against Afridi in case of 'foul play'.

Afridi, after a long stand-off with the PCB that also involved a legal battle, finally left for England to play for Hampshire after getting his NOC back.

Sri Lanka Cricket rejects BCCI claim of Lanka Premier League being a private tournament

 Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has rejected the Board of Control for Cricket in India's claim that the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) is a private-party organised tournament.

In a statement, the SLC said that the SLPL is owned and approved by it, and therefore, automatically by the International Cricket Council (ICC).

It further said that the Singapore-based Somerset Ventures only owns the commercial rights to the tournament.

The SLC rejoinder came a day after the BCCI had said it would not allow any Indian player to participate in the tournament on grounds that it was a privately-run event.

"This tournament is approved by SLC. And Somerset are the marketing arm, having won the rights through a tender process. Nobody can say it is owned by Somerset," ESPNcricinfo quoted SLC secretary Nishantha Ranatunga, as saying on Sunday.

Akhtar pulls out of Sri Lanka League, says he has had enough

Former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar Thursday pulled out of the inaugural Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) citing personal reasons, and said he does not want play the game any more.

Akhtar, who retired from international cricket after Pakistan's loss to India in the World Cup semifinals, said he has had enough of the game and wants to explore the other side of life.

'My parents are old and I want to spend time with them,' he was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

'I also don't want to play or want to be on the ground any more. I am not even coming back for a job in cricket or anything, but if some youngster needs my help I will visit from time to time to help them but no more of this game.'

'I want to explore other parts of the world now. I played this game for 18 years and I don't want to spend another 18 years in that scenario any more. I am going to be involved in charity work from now on.'

The Rawalpindi Express as he was called was roped in for SLPL along with other international players such as his compatriot Shahid Afridi, Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Herschelle Gibbs, Daniel Vettori and Kevin O'Brien.

The T20 event will take place between July 19 and August 4 in the island-nation.

No Indians for Lanka’s T20 league

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) won't allow Indians to play in next month’s Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) T20 championship. And the board insists it has nothing to do with protecting its cash-rich IPL’s brand value. The decision, it claims, has been taken to protect players! < 

Cricketers from Pakistan, West Indies, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand are expected to play in the inaugural Twenty20 Lankan league.

“Unlike in the IPL where the players are contracted by the BCCI, the SLPL is offering contracts with the event management company,” said a BCCI official, who didn’t wish to be named given the sensitivity of the issue. “If there is any goof-up, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) cannot be held accountable. The board would not like to take any chances.” 

The official said the move had nothing to do with Lanka creating problems about the availability of players during IPL 4.

The decision, taken on Saturday, was conveyed to SLC, which convened an emergency meeting. Secretary Nishantha Ranatunga was unavailable for comments.

“Anyway 32 of our main players will be on international duty,” another BCCI official told HT. Sixteen will be touring England, others will be busy with the emerging players tournament in Australia. SLPL begins on July 19 and doesn’t clash with any domestic tournament in India.

12 Indian cricketers to feature in SLPL

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has confirmed that as many as 12 Indian players will feature in the inaugural edition of the upcoming Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) T20 tournament according to a report in 'islandcricket' website.

The tournament which is all set to get underway on July 19 will also see several other international stars including the likes of David Warner and Shaun Tait from Australia and Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard from the West Indies, who are currently playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL), playing in the Island nation.

SLC Secretary, Nishantha Ranatunga Hints At Increasing the Number of Teams in Sri Lanka Premier League

Sri Lanka Cricket secretary, Mr. Nishantha Ranatunga, has hinted at increasing the number of provinces participating in the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) to nine after the first few seasons.

The inaugural edition of the tournament, to be held in Sri Lanka in July-August this year, will include seven provinces of Sri Lanka.

The country has total of nine provinces and the two provinces that do not have a team this time include Rajarata and Sabaragamuwa. The SLC secretary assured that the exclusion of these two provinces will not last long and would be part of the national league after the first few seasons.

"We merely wanted to limit the number of teams to ensure competitiveness," said Ranatunga while talking to the media reporters on Tuesday.

O'Brien joins Gloucestershire and Sri Lanka league

CRICKET NEWS: KEVIN O’BRIEN is about to turn his big-hitting World Cup heroics into personal reward on the double after signing up to play for English county side Gloucestershire, while he will also join one of the seven sides to take part in the new Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) Twenty20 tournament later in the summer.


The 27-year-old all-rounder from Sandymount, Dublin, displayed his destructive batting to brilliant effect during the recent World Cup, scoring the fastest century in the tournament’s history off just 50 balls as Ireland stunned England in victory in Bangalore.

Afridi to play in inaugural Sri Lanka Premier League

Karachi: Top Pakistan cricketers are looking to showcase their Twenty20 skills at the inaugural edition of the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) later this summer.

Leading the list of Pakistani players roped in by Sri Lanka is the flamboyant Shahid Afridi, who has accepted an offer to lead one of the SLPL franchises.

"I've accepted an offer to be captain of one of the team in the Sri Lankan Premier League. It's a good opportunity and I will try to make the most of it," Afridi was quoted as saying in The News Wednesday.

Afridi said he has also received a similar offer to lead one of the franchises at the Bangladesh's Premier League, adding that he is looking forward to that assignment as well.

PCB released Pakistan players to play in SLPL

Up to eight top Pakistan players are likely to be in the running to play in the first edition of the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL), allowing players from that country to finally benefit from some of the riches on offer in lucrative Twenty20 leagues around the world. The SLPL, likely to feature players from around the world, is scheduled to be held at the end of July and beginning of August this year, a window in the FTP where Pakistan has no commitments currently.

Both Pakistan captains - Shahid Afridi from the limited overs side and Misbah-ul-Haq from the Test side - have been approached, as have Shoaib Akhtar, Shoaib Malik and Umar Gul.

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Sri Lanka Premier League to have seven teams

The first edition of the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) will be a seven-team inter-provincial tournament played over approximately 18 days at the end of July and the beginning of August this year. The teams will play each other once, with the top four teams qualifying for the semi-finals. All the games will be played the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo and the winner of the tournament will qualify for the Champions League Twenty20.

ESPNcricinfo has learnt that the seven provinces that will be represented are Basnahira, Kandurata, Nagenahira, Ruhuna, Uthura, Uva and Wayamba. Sri Lanka Cricket will select the players for each team, with domestic players likely to be allotted to their home provinces, thereby ensuring the teams have local support.