Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has confirmed on Friday (February 16) about staging a franchise-based T20 league in the country, while the tournament which compromise of six teams will take place from the August 18 to September 10. With this development, Lankan Cricket Board are eyeing of getting the participation of Indian players in the T20 tournament to grab the eyeballs.

Although, the Indian Cricket Board (BCCI) has already refused to give the No Objection Certificates (NOC) for Indian players to play in any other franchise based tournaments, SLC said that the BCCI always supported them and this time also they are hoping of getting their support to make the event success.

An SLC official told Cricbuzz, “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.”

The official further added on the same, “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.”

Last week, SLC President Thilanga Sumathipala said about the T20 league in the country, “In this region, we are the only country that is not playing a franchise-based tournament. We will go to the market and we will find who are the parties that are interested. We are keen to not to repeat the mistakes of the past. We have to make sure that genuine sponsors are coming through.”

In May 2011, SLC had launched the Sri Lankan Premier League (SLPL) with the first season of the tournament played in 2012, while the league was canceled in 2013 and then 2014 due to financial issues.