Sri Lanka Premier League Official Media Release

The Sri Lanka Premier League (which is an ICC-approved tournament and is played under the auspices of Sri Lanka Cricket, the apex body formed under the Ministry of Sports, Government of Sri Lanka, and governing all cricket related matters of Sri Lanka) is on its way to its maiden launch in Sri Lanka, with the first game being played in Colombo, on August 11th this year.
The League has launched to a great start with all 7 Provincial franchises on offer having been bought for a average price of USD4.33 mln.



The SLPL is aimed at being Sri Lanka’s most prestigious, annually-held, Twenty20 cricket competition and shall feature the best and upcoming cricketing talent from Sri Lanka playing alongside national Sri Lankan cricketers as well as some of the world’s biggest Twenty20 cricket stars, generally, in the month of August each year subject to the Sri Lankan national team’s commitments under the ICC FTP, failing which, in July, each year. The inaugural season of the SLPL shall be played in August 2012 between August 11th and August 31st, 2012 (both dates inclusive) at the iconic R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo and the picturesque Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy.


The Opening Ceremony Night celebrating the birth of the SLPL shall be held in Colombo’s prestigious Sugathadasa Stadium on the evening of August 10th and shall feature many celebrity acts in the presence of former and current cricketers, as well as the new SLPL franchise owners.
The SLPL Twenty20 Cricket Tournament is expected to not only be an exciting world-class Twenty20 tournament but also a long-term successful business venture for stakeholders of the SLPL.


 A tournament of this stature will promote Sri Lanka further in terms of its recognition as one of the world’s leading cricketing nations (given that the tournament shall be broadcasted and therefore, viewed globally) while providing upcoming Sri Lankan cricketers to be seen on various media-related international platforms and thereby, further increasing interest levels of cricket within Sri Lanka and resulting in encouraging more youngsters to play the beautiful game of cricket. Furthermore, apart from just the recognition angle, playing cricket alongside and against some of the world’s best cricketing talent shall give the said young and upcoming cricketers of Sri Lanka the opportunity to hone their skills further and get a first-hand experience of the various demands and challenges faced within competitive international cricket even without having had the opportunity to play for Sri Lanka on a national level. In this manner, the tournament shall give Sri Lanka and Sri Lanka Cricket, an opportunity to build an enviable “bench-strength” of young cricketers with specialized skill-sets.


The Sri Lanka Premier League Twenty20 Cricket Tournament, as mentioned earlier, is expected to be telecast “live” across all major cricketing nations and shall offer international recognition and high visibility for partners, stakeholders and brands associated with itself. With the end of the 30 years civil war in Sri Lanka, many countries/companies/individuals have expressed high levels of interest to be present and to do business in Sri Lanka, and being associated with the SLPL through sponsorships/ownership of franchise(s) is widely considered by many to be a low-cost and high impact way of getting involved with the Sri Lankan economy/diaspora. It is also estimated that with the growth of the SLPL Twenty20 Cricket Tournament over time, the fan-following for each of the Provincial teams that shall be playing and participating in the SLPL from the inaugural season onwards shall expand to form communities (as has been amply witnessed across successful sports leagues and franchises around the world). 


SLC has decided to take a “Provincial” as opposed to “City-based” Franchise approach to team formation and related sale to interested buyers. The logic for such an approach stems from the fact that Sri Lanka is a relatively small country with a population of only 20 million people and unlike other countries in the subcontinent (where there are a number of cities with large populations thereby making it relatively easier to build “City-based” franchise loyalty), using a “City-based” approach to building franchises in Sri Lanka would restrict and/or limit the catchment area for fans as opposed to a “Provincial” approach that would cover a wider area and allow for a much larger fan base. 


In light of this said approach, each Provincial team/Franchise shall comprise of a squad of 18 players, of which 12 players shall be Sri Lankan players (of which at least 2 player will be an Under-21 Sri Lankan player) and the remaining 6 players shall all be Overseas players.