Lanka Premier League postponed again; Hambantota to host the tourney from November 27th
Due to a surge in COVID-19 cases in the country, the Sri Lankan cricket board has decided to delay the inaugural season of the Lanka Premier League by six days. The board has reduced the venues from three to one, and Hambantota will host the entire competition from November 27th to December 17th.
The vice president of Sri Lanka Cricket, Ravin Wickramaratne, who is also the Lanka Premier League's director, was optimistic that the tournament would happen safely in the final phase of the year. He believed that conducting all the games at the Mahinda Rajapaksa Stadium would help follow the strict bio-bubble regulations.
Several big names to participate in the Lanka Premier League
The draft of the Lanka Premier League happened just a few weeks ago. High-profile names of the T20 world like Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Shahid Afridi, Faf du Plessis, and Carlos Brathwaite earned contracts from their respective franchises.
Initially, the organizers had planned the event for August, but they had to delay it till November because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The board declared that the event would kick off on November 14th before postponing it to November 21st. Now, the Lanka Premier League is scheduled to commence on November 27th.
The Sri Lankan officials have shortened the mandatory quarantine for players to seven days. However, the support staff will have to isolate themselves for 14 days before joining the team.
Indian cricket fans will closely follow this competition because former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan will play for the Kandy Tuskers in the LPL 2020.
Apart from this, former IPL champions Manvinder Bisla and Manpreet Singh Gony will also play in the league as a part of the Colombo Kings squad. The Lanka Premier League promises to be an entertaining tournament and will feature many T20 greats from across the world.