SLC eager to have Indian players on board for Lankan Premier League

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) announced the launching of Lankan Premier League (LPL) earlier this week to provide more opportunities to the local players. The tournament will be a six-team affair in which all the teams will play each other twice before the top four will qualify for the knockouts. LPL is all set to commence on August 18 and will go on until September 10. However, the Sri Lankan cricket board is hopeful to the Indian players participating in the T20 competition.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has not provided No Objection Certificate (NOC) to its players to be involved in any franchise based cricket around the globe. The heavy cricketing schedule of the cricketers may be one of the reasons for that. Though SLC is known to have good relationships with the Indian board and are expecting the participation of the talent in the country which will help in growing the popularity of LPL.

BCCI has always supported us

The official of SLC was positive about getting the support from BCCI in the initial stages of the tournament as they possess a good relationship with them. “These are still early stages and we need to put up the processes of conducting the tournament. One area that we will certainly look at is the possibility of attracting Indian players for the event. We have a very good relationship with the BCCI and they have always supported us and we are hopeful of getting their support to make the event a success,” he was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

He also realises that it would be next to impossible to attract the senior Indian players to play the league as India will be in the middle of their England tour during that period. “Even if we aren’t able to attract top Indian players, the participation of uncapped Indians will help us to market the event better. The demand for players from West Indies for franchise based tournaments is also quite high and that is the reason why we are hosting our event after the Caribbean Premier League,” the official concluded.

It would be interesting to see if BCCI allows its uncapped players to venture in the T20 tournament and help their neighbours.