SLC announces Lanka Premier League 2020 schedule

The commencement of Lanka Premier League was in too many doubts due to several issues, but it was cleared only a few days back by the President of Sri Lanka. In the latest turn of events, the postponed schedule of LPL is out on the table, where Colombo Kings and Kandy Tuskers will lock horns with each other in the season opener. All the matches will set action at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, Hambantota.

The league will flag off its journey from November 26, and five teams will put their best foot forward to take away the trophy. Four out of a total of five teams will step up for the semi-finals to be played on 13th and 14th December. The finals will get underway on 16th December. Earlier, the tournament was expected to kick off on November 21, but it was postponed. The Health ministry gave its nod on 5th November after holding several meetings with the senior officials of the nation.

LPL to take place in a biosecure bubble

The LPL would take place inside the biosecure bubble and stringent COVID-19 guidelines would be followed. The PM of Sri Lanka, Mahinda Rajapaksa, stated earlier that seeing the huge success of IPL, Lanka would also like to host a T20 tournament of their own. Sri Lankan Cricket was in discussion with the Ministry of Youth and Sports over the same matter.

“Following the success of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the possibility of holding such a tournament in Sri Lanka was much talked about for many years, but unfortunately, it didn’t happen. But now, the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and the Ministry of Youth and Sports have been in discussions for weeks to make this tournament a reality as it is essential for the future of Sri Lankan cricket,” stated Rajapaksa as quoted by India TV.

The league underwent a great loss when five big overseas players pulled out of the tournament due to different issues. The names were Andre Russell, David Miller, Faf du Plessis, Dawid Malan, and Manvinder Bisla. Russell is injured, and the rest of them have their national commitments. However, with its limited overseas star now, LPL is all set to kick off from November-26.

Here’s the full schedule