LPL 4 set to attract star players
Samantha Dodanwela
With the inaugural player auction of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) scheduled for next week in a five-star Hotel in Colombo, Tournament Director Samantha Dodanwela is confident they can attract some top class international and local stars to light up the upcoming fourth edition.
The auction is set for June 14 for the five-team tournament that will run from July 30 to August 20, 2023.
Babar Azam, David Miller, Shakib Al Hasan, Farkhar Zaman and Matthew Wade are among those who have already signed up in the pre-auction stage and many more international stars have registered to be part of the tournament that’s seen a sharp rise in interest since its inauguration four years ago.
Azam, the current Pakistan captain, is the highest-ranked player to enlist and has cost substantially for the Colombo Strikers. Although LPL is in its infancy, organisers are hopeful it will become one of the world’s most sought-after tournaments, with a Sri Lankan identity.
“We will never be able to compete with the IPL, but I believe we can make it one of the best-run tournaments in the world,” said Dodanwela.
“We are making progress following two tough years, initially due to Covid. This year we are going for a player auction as opposed to the player draft we held previously. We have also increased the franchise purse significantly”.
The total purse available for franchises to purchase players has been pushed up from $350,000 to $1,000,000 with $500,000 being made available for franchises for direct signing prior to the auction. The balance is to be used to purchase players at the auction.
“I believe this is a significant change to the league. We need to have utmost transparency in the selection of players and also give players an opportunity to be sold at the right price for the right franchise,” Dodanwela explained, adding that the auction will be telecast live by event broadcaster Star Sports.
According to Dodanwela, the LPL team will have a squad of 20 to 24 players, including a mandatory six overseas cricketers and 14 to 19 domestic players including one Under-21 player–a mandatory requirement.
In order to maintain continuity in building squads, a player’s contractual period has been set for three years. However, the franchises have the right to retain or release players on mutual consent at the end of every year.
“We had over 500 overseas players registered initially but we have brought it down to 330. We shared this list with the franchise owners and sent them to each franchise to prune down to about 125-150 players. Once that is received, along with local players, we will categorise them as capped and uncapped, with a specific base price. This process will take place tomorrow”.
Accordingly, capped players will have base prices ranging from $10,000 to $50,000 in $10,000 increments. Uncapped players will have a base price of $20,000 if they have played a minimum of 50 first class matches; $10,000 if they have played a minimum of 25 first class matches or 18 matches in the LPL or equivalent T20 franchise leagues; and $5,000 if they do not meet any of the aforementioned criteria.
Dodanwela, a former first class cricketer, said that the current business model gives them an opportunity to bag a risk-free profit at the end of the each edition. This year, it is expected to earn them around $2.3 million.
“There’s a cost involved to the board and I am sure we can make around Rs.250m to Rs.300m profit from the tournament,” he said.
The IPG Group holds total event rights for the tournament. While they initially signed for five years, this was later increased to 10 years on mutual consent by both parties–the IGP Group and Sri Lanka Cricket.
Two teams, Colombo Strikers and Kandy Falcons, have had ownership changes this year with Colombo Strikers altering its name from Colombo Stars.
All the matches in the LPL will be played in Colombo and Kandy. Jaffna Kings have been undisputed winner of the LPL, having successfully defended the title in each occasion.
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