COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s cricket board will auction some 150 players next month, including international stars, for the five teams that will make up the virus-delayed premier league, officials said on Friday.

The 23-match Lanka Premier League (LPL), originally due in August, will now be played from Nov 14 to Dec 6, with matches in Dambulla, Pallekele and Hambantota. “The player auction of the LPL will be held on October 1,” the board said in a statement.

Five teams named after the Sri Lankan cities of Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Dambulla and Jaffna, will take part. Sri Lanka Cricket said 30 foreigners including Chris Gayle, Darren Sammy, Darren Bravo, Shahid Afridi and Shakib Al Hasan will play in the tournament. “Each franchise can buy up to six international players,” the board said.

The five teams will consist of 30 international cricketers and 65 local players. The LPL was due to start on Aug 28 but was postponed after authorities insisted on lengthy quarantines for foreign players.

International cricket came to a halt in Sri Lanka on March 13. The visiting England team pulled out on the second day of a practice match ahead of their two-Test series as the coronavirus pandemic spread. Since then, South Africa and Bangladesh have cancelled scheduled tours of Sri Lanka.

Published in Dawn, September 12th, 2020