Colombo: The ‘Player Draft’ for the second edition of the Lanka Premier League 2021 (LPL), scheduled to be held on November 5, has been rescheduled and will take place on November 9.
The decision was taken to accommodate a request made by several franchise owners, owing to the fact that the draft coincides with the Diwali festival season.
A total of 600 players, consisting of 300 overseas and 300 Sri Lankan players will feature in the ‘Draft’, which will be held virtually with the participation of five franchise owners and Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) officials.
The LPL has garnered attention from a host of cricket stars including West Indies’ Chris Gayle, former India pace bowler Irfan Pathan, former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi and former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis among others. The second season of the LPL will also feature Sri Lanka’s rising star Charith Asalanka.
The draft will consist of 20 rounds, covering several player categories, such as ‘Local and Overseas Icon Player’, ‘Local and Overseas Diamond Player’, ‘Local and Overseas Gold Player’, and ‘Local and Overseas Classic Player’.
There will also be ‘Local Emerging’ and ‘Supplementary Local’ rounds focusing on selecting Sri Lanka’s young talent.
A squad will consist of 20 players, with 14 local and six overseas players. Five franchises from the cities of Colombo, Dambulla, Galle, Jaffna and Kandy respectively will battle it out for the trophy in the second edition of the Lanka Premier League. The tournament will be held from December 5 to December 23, 2021.
Experienced T20 campaigner MD Gunathilaka from Sri Lanka finished as the highest run-getter in the last season of the LPL with 476 runs, while star T20 bowler from the Island nation Wanindu Hasaranga was the highest wicket-taker with 17 wickets.
(IANS)