2024 Lanka Premier League
| Dates | 1 July – 21 July 2024 |
|---|---|
| Administrator(s) | Sri Lanka Cricket |
| Cricket format | Twenty20 |
| Tournament format(s) | Double round-robin and playoffs |
| Host(s) | Sri Lanka |
| Participants | 5 |
| Matches | 24 |
| Official website | Lanka Premier League |
The 2024 Lanka Premier League will be the fifth edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL), a Twenty20 franchise cricket tournament in Sri Lanka. The league is organized by the Sri Lanka Cricket. It will begin on 1 July and the final will be held on 21 July 2024.[1] Five franchise teams are going to take part in a double round-robin league followed by a playoffs.[2] B-Love Kandy are the defending champions.[3]
Background[edit]
In 16 February 2024, it was announced that the 5th season of the tournament would begin on July 4, 2024, four days after the conclusion of the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.[4][5]
Player auction[edit]
The auction was held on 21 May 2024, where the five franchises were allowed to spend a maximum of US$500,000 each. The auction was held at Shangri-La Colombo.[6]
Each team was allowed to have a squad of 20-24 players, inclusive of a mandatory six overseas players and 14-19 domestic players. Any money not spent from the pre-signing kitty cannot be carried over to the auction. The teams also had a right-to-match option for their players, and the money for that had to come from within the auction kitty.[6]
Bidding took place between two teams at any given time, with a third team allowed to join the bidding only once one of the first two teams had withdrawn from the process. An "accelerated" auction process occurred after the first 70 names were presented for bidding. This process saw franchises nominate 15-20 players, including unsold players, who will go under the hammer.[6]
Players were categorised into two groups, capped and uncapped. Each capped player will be able to register themselves under base prices ranging from $10,000 to $50,000 in $10,000 increments. Uncapped players will be classed with a base price of $20,000 - those having played a minimum of 50 first-class matches; $10,000 - a minimum of 25 first-class matches, or a minimum of 18 matches in the LPL or any other equivalent T20 franchise league; and $5000 - those who do not meet any of the criteria mentioned above.[6]
Matheesha Pathirana became the auction's most expensive player to be picked when Colombo Strikers bought him for a record price of $120,000.[6]Afghanistan Karim Janat became the auction's most expensive overseas player to be picked at $80,000 and it raised eyebrows given Karim Janat is yet to establish and prove himself at international level.
Among the fresh overseas signings, Afghanistan allrounder Karim Janat attracted the biggest bid, going for $80,000 to Dambulla Thunders, a franchise under new ownership this year. Rilee Rossouw was another headliner, joining Kings for $60,000.[6]
ESPNcricinfo[edit]
Matheesha Pathirana has become the most expensive Lanka Premier League (LPL) player ever, commanding a US$120,000 price tag as he ended up with his old team, Colombo Strikers, for the 2024 edition of the tournament.
The other big winner of the day was seamer Isuru Udana, who was bought by the new Galle Marvels franchise for $100,000, despite his base price being $30,000 and Marvels being the only franchise that bid for him. The auctioneer checked three times whether he had heard the bid from Marvels correctly. He had. They wanted to pay that much for Udana, who has not played for Sri Lanka since 2021.
Dasun Shanaka also commanded a serious price tag, going to B-Love Kandy for $85,000. In his case, though, Jaffna Kings had been in a bidding war with B-Love.
Among the fresh overseas signings, Afghanistan allrounder Karim Janat attracted the biggest bid, going for $80,000 to Dambulla Thunders, a franchise under new ownership this year. Rilee Rossouw was another headliner, joining Kings for $60,000.
Afghanistan's Rahmanullah Gurbaz - a wicketkeeper batter - and Hazratullah Zazai - a top-order batter - also got bids worth $50,000, going to Strikers and Thunders respectively. Spin-bowling allrounder Fabian Allen went to Kings for $32,000, and seam-bowling allrounder Dwaine Pretorius was bought by Marvels for $30,000.
In general, it wasn't a profitable auction for many overseas players. The likes of Lungi Ngidi, David Wiese, Martin Guptill, Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman, Shoaib Malik, and Mushfiqur Rahim went unsold.
Local spin-bowling allrounders like Dhananjaya de Silva and Dunith Wellalage did okay, though, going for $50,000 to Kings and Strikers respectively. Kusal Perera was the most high-profile local player to not attract a bid, with even former Test captain Dimuth Karunaratne getting a gig for $10,000 with B-Love Kandy.
This version of the LPL has two new sets of owners. Thunders have replaced last year's owners Dambulla Aura, while Marvels have taken over from Galle Gladiators.
Kings, Strikers, and B-Love Kandy are the surviving franchises from last year. Kings are the only owners that have been around since 2022 or before.
Squads[edit]
Venues[edit]
R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium in Dambulla and Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy were selected as the venues.[7]
| City | Colombo | Dambulla | Kandy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ground | R. Premadasa Stadium | Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium | Pallekele International Cricket Stadium |
|
|
| |
| Capacity | 35,000 | 16,800 | 35,000 |
| Matches | 10 | 8 | 6 |
Points table[edit]
The top four teams qualified for the play-offs
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | B-Love Kandy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2 | Colombo Strikers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 3 | Dambulla Thunders | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 4 | Galle Marvels | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 5 | Jaffna Kings | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
League stage[edit]
In April 2024, the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) confirmed the fixtures for the competition.[7]
Play-offs[edit]
| Qualifier 1 | Qualifier 2 | Final | |||||||||||
| 18 July 2024 — Colombo | 21 July 2024 — Colombo | ||||||||||||
| 1 | 1st placed team | Q1W | Winner of Qualifier 1 | ||||||||||
| 2 | 2nd placed team | 20 July 2024 — Colombo | Q2W | Winner of Qualifier 2 | |||||||||
| Q1L | Loser of Qualifier 1 | ||||||||||||
| Eliminator | EW | Winner of Eliminator | |||||||||||
| 18 July 2024 — Colombo | |||||||||||||
| 3 | 3rd placed team | ||||||||||||
| 4 | 4th placed team | ||||||||||||
Eliminator[edit]
Qualifier 1[edit]
Qualifier 2[edit]
Final[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "LPL 2024 to be played from July 1 to July 21". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
- ^ "Lanka Premier League 2024 to be played from July 1 to July 31". India Today. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
- ^ "Dates announced for LPL season 5". ThePapare. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
- ^ "Dates announced for LPL season 5". thepapare.com. 16 December 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
- ^ Sagar, Singh (16 February 2024). "LPL 2024 to be played from July 1 to July 21". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 16 February 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f "LPL auction:Pathirana returns to Colombo Strikers with LPL record US$120,000 price tag". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
- ^ a b "Fixtures announced for Lanka Premier League 2024". ThePapare. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
External links[edit]
- [ Series home at ESPNcricinfo]
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