5 IPL 2023 stars who are playing in Lanka Premier League
Lanka Premier League got underway on July 30 in Colombo. Five teams, namely Jaffna Kings, B-Love Kandy, Dambulla Aura, Galle Titans, and Colombo Strikers, are participating in this year's Lanka Premier League competition.
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) launched LPL in 2020 with the aim of providing youngsters of the nation a chance to compete with the best in the world and also attract investments for the development of cricket in the island nation. Team owners have managed to sign some big names in world cricket in the Lanka Premier League.
Here's a list of five top performers of IPL 2023 who are currently playing in LPL:
#1 David Miller, Jaffna Kings
Gujarat Titans star David Miller is a member of the Jaffna Kings team in the ongoing LPL season. Miller played an integral role in GT's maiden IPL championship win in 2022. He continued his form in IPL 2023 and finished with 259 runs at a strike rate of 145.50.
OVERSEAS PLAYER ARRIVAL | DAVID MILLER
left-hander of South Africa, David Miller has arrived in Sri Lanka to join Jaffna Kings for LPL.
Miller will be available for selection from the 2nd match of Jaffna Kings.
#sportspavilionlk #LPLT20 pic.twitter.com/UNyYpTH34G
Miller recently represented the Texas Super Kings in USA's Major League Cricket. He has now reached Sri Lanka to play for the Jaffna Kings.
#2 Wanindu Hasaranga, B-Love Kandy
Royal Challengers Bangalore all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga missed some matches of IPL 2023 owing to injury and national duty. He still managed to represent the Bangalore-based franchise in eight matches, during which he scalped nine wickets at an average of 28.66.
Hasaranga is the captain of B-Love Kandy team in LPL 2023. Experienced stars like Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Isuru Udana, Sarfaraz Ahmed, and Fakhar Zaman will play under his captaincy in Lanka Premier League.
#3 Matheesha Pathirana, Colombo Strikers
Rising star of Sri Lankan cricket, Matheesha Pathirana played a big role in the Chennai Super Kings' IPL 2023 title win. Popularly known as Jr. Malinga, Pathirana bowled the important death overs for CSK this season and ended with 19 wickets in just 12 matches.
The right-arm pace bowler is a member of the Colombo Strikers team in LPL 2023. Pakistan skipper Babar Azam is the captain of the Strikers franchise.
#4 Maheesh Theekshana, Jaffna Kings
Another Chennai Super Kings player who is playing in LPL 2023 is Maheesh Theekshana. The spinner is a part of the Jaffna Kings squad along with the likes of David Miller, Chris Lynn, Shoaib Malik, Charith Asalanka, Thisara Perera, Dilshan Madushanka, and Asela Gunaratne.
Maheesh Theekshana for Jaffna Kings. #LPL pic.twitter.com/uhC26ivw3w
Theekshana scalped 11 wickets in 13 matches for CSK this year. He starred in Sri Lanka's ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier triumph in Zimbabwe and will aim to do the same for Jaffna Kings in LPL 2023.
#5 Noor Ahmad, Dambulla Aura
Gujarat Titans' left-arm wrist spinner Noor Ahmad was quite impressive in IPL 2023. The 18-year-old scalped 16 wickets in 13 matches, with his best figures being 3/37. He was GT's best bowler in the IPL 2023 Final against the Chennai Super Kings.
Ahmad will now don the Dambulla Aura jersey in LPL 2023. The likes of Shahnawaz Dahani, Hayden Kerr, Dhananjaya de Silva, Avishka Fernando, Alex Ross, Kusal Mendis, and Kusal Perera are his teammates in Lanka Premier League.