Second edition of Lanka Premier League (LPL) to begin on July 30
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has revealed that the second edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) will be held from July 30 to August 22 this year.
The inaugural edition of the LPL was conducted last year in Hambantota from November 26 to December 16, with the Jaffna Stallions emerging as champions. The tournament was scheduled to start in August but had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Arjuna De Silva, the chairman of the SCL management committee, confirmed the dates for LPL 2021 through an official release and said:
"We have found a suitable window to hold this year’s edition, whilst we are currently working on finalizing the other details of the tournament."
Last year’s LPL had to be played in a bio-secure environment owing to the threat of the COVID-19 virus. As a precautionary measure, SLC will continue to assess the situation in Sri Lanka and have discussions with the Ministry of Health about the tournament as the start of the LPL draws closer.
LPL 2020 was marred by many big names pulling out
The LPL did not get off to a very encouraging start as a number of superstar players withdrew from the league in 2020 before the tournament commenced.
Chris Gayle, Lasith Malinga, Faf du Plessis, David Miller, Mohammad Hafeez, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Wahab Riaz and Liam Plunkett were among the prominent cricketers who pulled out of the tournament.
LPL 2020, however, featured former Indian players Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel and Manpreet Gony.
Five teams took part in the T20 league - Colombo Kings, Dambulla Viiking, Jaffna Stallions, Galle Gladiators and Kandy Tuskers. As a safety measure, all 23 games of LPL 2020 were held at the same venue - the MRIC Stadium in Hambantota.
The Jaffna Stallions won the inaugural edition of the LPL, defeating the Galle Gladiators by 53 runs in a one-sided final. Batting first, the Jaffna Stallions scored 188 for 6 and then restricted Galle Gladiators to 138 for 9.
Veteran all-rounder Shoaib Malik was named the Man of the Final for his all-round brilliance - 46 runs and figures of 2/13. Wanindu Hasaranga was named the Player of the Series for claiming 17 wickets in 10 matches at a strike rate of 13 and an economy rate of 5.18.