LPL 2025 to be held in Colombo, Pallekele and Dambulla from November 27
This will be the fourth time in six years that the LPL is being staged in the November-December window instead of its usual July-August slot. While the last two seasons were held during the mid-year period, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) opted for a later schedule this year, considering the 2026 T20 World Cup is set to begin in February, making the revised window more strategic.
"The idea to conduct the LPL during this time frame is aimed at aligning the tournament with the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026," said Samantha Dodanwela, Tournament Director, LPL.
The LPL, Sri Lanka's flagship domestic T20 tournament with an international appeal, serves as a dynamic platform for the country's top first-class cricketers to compete alongside and against international stars. Since the inaugural edition in 2020, the Lanka Premier League has been held annually and has become a vital fixture in Sri Lanka's cricketing calendar.
Earlier this year, Sri Lanka Cricket terminated the contracts of Jaffna Kings - previously the longest-standing franchise since joining in the tournament's second edition - and Colombo Strikers, citing 'failure to uphold contractual obligations.'
As a result, none of the current LPL franchises have ownership histories dating back beyond 2024. New owners for the Jaffna and Colombo teams are yet to be announced.
Dodanwela also shared the board's intent to develop more batting-friendly pitches to help players adapt to conditions expected during the 2026 T20 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by Sri Lanka along with India.
"We were quite happy with the wickets during the last edition, particularly in Dambulla and Kandy. We saw lots of high scores and even some centuries during that portion of the tournament. It was only in Colombo where batting was a little harder," Dodanwela noted.
Supporting his comments, relaying work is currently underway on the pitches at the R. Premadasa Stadium. Several national players, including Charith Asalanka and Dhananjaya de Silva, have also recently highlighted the need for surfaces that offer more support to batters.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
an hour ago
- India Today
Curious case of the heavy roller: How it can affect Day 5 of the Oval Test
The Oval Test is perfectly poised for a dramatic end on Day 5 on Monday, August 4. Everyone expected the match to be done and dusted on Sunday as India needed nine wickets and England, who were 50 for 1, needed another 324 runs to seal the win and the series. Things started off well for the visitors as they dismissed Ben Duckett right after he got his fifty before Ollie Pope was trapped in front of the stumps by Mohammed Siraj. advertisementIndian fans were almost in raptures when Siraj caught Harry Brook near the boundary line but the Indian pacer accidentally stepped on the line. Brook made India pay with a brilliant 111 and Root followed it up with his 39th Test hundred. England looked all set for the win, but there was a twist in the tale. Prasidh Krishna got the wickets of Jacob Bethell and Root to get India back into the contest. Just when things got interesting, the weather played spoilsport and both teams returned to the pavilion ready to fight it out on Monday. All four results are possible in the match with England needing 35 runs and India looking for four wickets, with the injured Chris Woakes ready to bat. But here is where England has an advantage, with the use of the heavy roller, something that Harsha Bhogle pointed out in his tweet right after the play stopped on Day 4. "I am glad there are people other than me asking why the covers couldn't have come off in time to allow us to witness an extraordinary climax. Now we come back tomorrow but the heavy roller can be used and that can be a game-changer," tweeted Bhogle. The heavy roller was used just before the start of Day 4 by the hosts and their skipper, Pope and the results were evident. The English batters were scoring freely and the Indian bowlers were made to toil and work hard for breakthroughs. What does the heavy roller do?So, according to the ICC, the pitch may be rolled at the request of the captain of the batting side, for a period of not more than 7 minutes, before the start of each innings, other than the first innings of the match, and before the start of each subsequent day's Test, Day 5 Weather reportThe rolling permitted before play on any day shall be started not more than 30 minutes before the time scheduled or rescheduled for play to begin. The captain of the batting side may, however, delay the start of such rolling until not less than 10 minutes before the time scheduled or rescheduled for play to the important thing is that the choice of the roller (heavy or light) is given to the captain of the batting side. In this case, it will be England's Pope. If he is going to opt for the heavy roller, then it will smoothen out any unevenness on the pitch, essentially making it flat and suitable for batting. While this may be only for a brief period, it plays into the hands of the hosts at the Oval given that they need 35 runs to win. Joe Root, during the press conference, said that the rolling has had an effect on the game so far and is hoping things will work out in their favour if the heavy one is used. "In terms of the roller, we'll see. I haven't got a crystal ball unfortunately, but it has made an impact so far throughout this game. Whether that changes on day five, we'll see, but hopefully it works well in our favor in flattening things out," said Root. advertisementIndia's bowling coach Morne Morkel was unfazed by the prospect of the heavy roller being used, and feels that his well-rested bowlers can get in a good warm-up and go out to chase and get the wickets needed. "Tomorrow we can just focus on doing a good warm-up and get the boys ready to hopefully get the ball in the right area and yeah, create a little bit of excitement again," said Morkel. With the match on a knife-edge, things could all come down to the process of rolling just before the start of play. - EndsTune InMust Watch
News18
4 hours ago
- News18
Not Workload! Serious Reason For Jasprit Bumrah's Early Leave From ENG Revealed
Last Updated: Jasprit Bumrah wasn't sent home early from England due to workload issues and the pacer is suspected to have suffered a knee injury, a new report has claimed. Jasprit Bumrah was always expected to play only three of the five Tests in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy in England. The pacer himself, head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Shubman Gill all said before the series began that it was to manage his workload and avoid a serious injury like the one he suffered in Australia. So, when he missed out on the team's 11 for the fifth Test at the Oval, it wasn't a surprise. However, the Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI) in India's media brief dated August 31 that Bumrah had been released from the squad, in the middle of the fifth Test, raised eyebrows. If he was just being rested, why release him and not use his experience from the dug-out? Now, a new report has shed some light on the issue. The Times of India claimed that Bumrah has suffered a knee injury. 'Unfortunately, Bumrah is suffering from a knee injury. The good thing is that it's not a major one and won't require surgery. The BCCI medical team is currently awaiting his scan reports," the report cited an anonymous BCCI official as saying. The report added that the 31-year-old pacer will now begin his rehab at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru. India has done well in Bumrah's absence in the Oval Test. Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, and Prasidh Krishna have bowled with menace and overcome their own excessive workloads and tiredness to pick up all 15 of 16 wickets that fell in the first four days. India were struggling and on the verge of collapsing to a big defeat in the second session on the fourth day. But Siraj and Prasidh picked themselves up in the final hour to bring the team back and reduce England to 339/6 in the chase of 374. The hosts need 35 runs to win and have four wickets in hand with just the final day to go. Meanwhile, if Bumrah has indeed suffered a knee issue, it would be a body blow to India. They don't play any Tests for some time now but the preparations for the 2026 T20 World Cup begins next month with the Asia Cup. Further, the BCCI would be sweating about the longetivity of their ace pacer's career if it is a second serious injury in eight months. view comments First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
18 hours ago
- First Post
ICC to approach players directly for mobile gaming rights instead of consulting World Cricketers' Association
The International Cricket Council had deliberated on the issue at its board meeting in Harare in April and conveyed its decision to members in attendance at the Annual Conference in Singapore last month. read more The International Cricket Council (ICC) has decided to approach players directly through their respective boards rather than consult the World Cricketers Association (WCA) in its bid to create a mobile gaming platform. The ICC had deliberated on the issue at a board meeting in Harare, Zimbabwe in April and had confirmed the same at its Annual Conference in Singapore recently. 'A clear direction from the April (ICC Board meeting in Harare) meeting was that all players' rights for this project would be secured through the members. The ICC was not to contract player rights through a third party such as the World Cricketers Association,' Cricbuzz quoted an ICC note to its members who had attended the Annual Conference on Saturday. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD ICC faces a tricky scenario over retired greats Securing players' rights is crucial for ICC's gaming project. However, the Dubai-based governing body faces a tricky situation when it comes to securing the rights for retired legends such as Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni – who are no longer contracted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) – and other former cricketers from other nations. A game without Tendulkar and Dhoni, after all, will feel incomplete even if the two had retired from international cricket long back – 12 years in the former's case. More from First Cricket AB de Villiers finally wins a trophy as South Africa Champions crush Pakistan in WCL final - WATCH The ICC has asked its board to form a working group to address these issues and try and achieve a solution before its next meeting, which is scheduled to take place in October. 'The aim is to have a preferred partner identified for approval at the October board meetings. (The ICC) management will be in touch with members shortly to formalise the licence of rights required for the mobile game. These agreements will need to be completed by October,' the note added. The ICC has high hopes from the upcoming mobile game, for which it had initiated an expression of interest process at the Harare meeting in April in which it had issued an Invitation to Tender to shortlisted organisations. 'It will be bigger than the movies,' newly-appointed ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta had said at the ICC meeting, referring to mobile gaming in cricket.
