SLC mulling feasibility of Lankan Premier League T20 in August, says report 

Sri Lanka Cricket is pushing for its own premier domestic T20 league despite COVID-19 pandemic.

By Kashish Chadha - 21 Jun, 2020

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is once again pushing for its own premier domestic T20 competition, the Lankan Premier League (LPL), possibly in August despite great uncertainty in the cricketing scene due to COVID-19 pandemic. 

According to a report in ESPNcricinfo, the SLC considers having such a tournament feasible because the Island nation has been able to deal with the health crisis much better than a lot of other countries, who obviously have greater populations. 

Read Also: Sri Lanka govt orders investigation following 2011 World Cup final fixing claim 

Less than 2,000 positive cases and only 11 COVID-19 fatalities have been reported so far in the country, whereas the world count of infection is over 8.8 million people. 

"SLC CEO Ashley de Silva is understood to have written to other boards about the prospect of a Lankan Premier League (LPL), while foreign players have also been approached," ESPNcricinfo reported.

"Tournament planning, though, remains in its very preliminary stages, with no official announcement having yet come from the board. At present, SLC is working on the theory that LPL may feature five teams and could last a little over three weeks."

It is understood that SLC is hoping to see overseas players, support staff and all else not undergo a lengthy quarantine period on arrival for LPL. 

The authorities think two-time negative testing, before and after arrival, would be enough to conduct the league safely. 

Efforts are also being made to host the Asia Cup in September and see India arrive for three ODIs and three T20Is at some stage, apart from having Bangladesh there for scheduled three Test matches. 

(Inputs from PTI)

By Kashish Chadha - 21 Jun, 2020

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