SLPL had met its expectations - Aravinda De Silva

Former leading Sri Lankan cricketer and cricket selector Aravinda De Silva Friday at a media briefing in Colombo slammed critics of the Sri Lankan Premier League (SLPL) Twenty20 cricket tournament, insisting that the event had met its expectations.
De Silva told reporters at a media briefing that the main focus of the SLPL, a cricket tournament which featured local and foreign players together in seven teams, was to nurture young Sri Lankan cricketers, reports Xinhua.

De Silva, who is a mentor for one of the team, Uva Next, said that he was keen to see a tournament like the SLPL being held in Sri Lanka and his dream came true when the cricket board managed to organize the event.
"Leave aside political issues. I always wanted the youth of this country to benefit from the game. SLPL will help the youth of Sri Lanka," De Silva said.
Dilshan Munaweera and Akila Dhanajaya, two young players who performed well in the Sri Lanka Premier League, were picked to play for Sri Lanka in the Twenty20 World Cup.
The SLPL was criticized even before the tournament got off the ground and, with the final scheduled to take place Friday, critics have questioned if the tournament had met its goals.
How ever one of the major concerns was the inability of the SLPL to draw crowds similar to that seen in the more popular Indian Premier League (IPL).