Daily Times

KARACHI: A team from Pakistan is likely to be a part of the Sri Lanka Premier League. The dialogue has reached its finals stages and an announcement is expected in the near future. According to details, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has been attempting to start a league of its own however the dates have been constantly changing due to the ongoing coronavirus epidemic. The tournament will include Dambulla Hawks, Galle Dolphins, Jaffna Cobras, Colombo Lions and Kandy Tuskers. A total of 23 matches will be played where each team is likely to play a minimum of eight matches and a maximum of 10 matches. According to sources, a team from Pakistan might soon be added to the league with its owner rumored to have a considerable amount of cricketing knowledge.

The event will be held in a window between November and December of the current year. The management has added big names such as Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez in the initial list of icon cricketers. International players such as AB De Villiers, Eoin Morgan, Yuvraj Singh, Sunil Narine, Lasith Malinga, Angelo Matthews, Irfan Pathan, Chris Gayle, Alex Hales, Shane Watson and Shakibal Hasan could also be part of the tournament. A total of 30 international cricketers are expected to participate in the league. The inclusion of Indian players is subjected to the issuance of NOC’s by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

It should be noted that the SLC has granted franchise ownership rights, media broadcasting rights and ground sponsorship rights to a Dubai-based company IPG for five years which were sold at the cost of $11 million. The SLC will receive $1.9 million annually for the first two years while a 10 per cent increase will be made for the next three years. The SLC will have to look after the management of the grounds and umpires while all other activities would be handled by the company.