12 Indian cricketers to feature in SLPL

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has confirmed that as many as 12 Indian players will feature in the inaugural edition of the upcoming Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) T20 tournament according to a report in 'islandcricket' website.

The tournament which is all set to get underway on July 19 will also see several other international stars including the likes of David Warner and Shaun Tait from Australia and Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard from the West Indies, who are currently playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL), playing in the Island nation.

The tournament will also provide a platform for the Pakistani players to showcase their talents who found no takers in the IPL.

Shahid Afridi, who will be captaining a team in the tournament, along with Shoaib Akhtar, Sohail Tanvir and Umar Akmal will represent the Pakistani talent on show.

South Africa's dashing batsman Herschelle Gibbs and veteran Makhaya Ntini are amongst the other big names on show.

All matches will be held at the R Premadasa Stadium here.

The Indian players who figure in the list posted by the website include Dinesh Karthik, Irfan Pathan, Manish Pandey, Manoj Tiwary, Paul Valthaty, Ravindra Jadeja, Saurabh Tiwary, Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar, Munaf Patel, Praveen Kumar and Ravichandran Ashwin.

However, the inclusion of Praveen Kumar, Munaf Patel and Ashwin has come as a surprise as the trio will be on national duty as India is scheduled to visit England during the month of July for a four-match Test series followed by five-match one-day series and a one-off Twenty20 match. 

Other international stars in the list include Warner, Tait, Callum Ferguson, Daniel Christian (Australia), Tamim Iqbal (Bangladesh), Kevin O'Brien (Ireland), Daniel Vettori (New Zealand), Imran Nazir, Afridi, Akhtar, Tanvir, Akmal, Wahab Riaz (Pakistan), Albie Morkel, Gibbs, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Ntini (South Africa), Gayle, Danza Hyatt, Darren Bravo, Pollard (West Indies).

SLC Secretary, Nishantha Ranatunga Hints At Increasing the Number of Teams in Sri Lanka Premier League

Sri Lanka Cricket secretary, Mr. Nishantha Ranatunga, has hinted at increasing the number of provinces participating in the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) to nine after the first few seasons.

The inaugural edition of the tournament, to be held in Sri Lanka in July-August this year, will include seven provinces of Sri Lanka.

The country has total of nine provinces and the two provinces that do not have a team this time include Rajarata and Sabaragamuwa. The SLC secretary assured that the exclusion of these two provinces will not last long and would be part of the national league after the first few seasons.

"We merely wanted to limit the number of teams to ensure competitiveness," said Ranatunga while talking to the media reporters on Tuesday.

"So far, we have had only five teams in our domestic provincial tournaments. We added North (Uthura) and East (Negenahira) for this first tournament, and as we progress with it in the next few seasons, we will add the other two provinces as well," he added.

The opening edition of the Sri Lanka Premier League will start at the end of the July this year and will last for more than 18 days.

Although Sri Lanka built two new stadiums in Hambantota and Pallekele for the recently concluded ICC World Cup 2011, all of the SLPL fixtures will be hosted by the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

When asked about the logic behind staging the whole tournament in one stadium, Ranatunga said that the logistical issues prompted them to use only one stadium.

He further added that they had to finish everything within a time frame of two to three weeks and it would be pretty tiresome for the players to travel heavily in the short period.

The SLC secretary said that keeping in mind all these aspects, they had no option but to limit the league to Colombo.

SLPL, like the Indian Premier League and the revised format of the Big Bash in Australia, will not feature city-based teams. Ranatunga said that the province-based teams would allow the teams of the whole province to link up.

O'Brien joins Gloucestershire and Sri Lanka league

CRICKET NEWS: KEVIN O’BRIEN is about to turn his big-hitting World Cup heroics into personal reward on the double after signing up to play for English county side Gloucestershire, while he will also join one of the seven sides to take part in the new Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) Twenty20 tournament later in the summer.


The 27-year-old all-rounder from Sandymount, Dublin, displayed his destructive batting to brilliant effect during the recent World Cup, scoring the fastest century in the tournament’s history off just 50 balls as Ireland stunned England in victory in Bangalore.



Talks of a lucrative deal with an Indian Premier League franchise came in the aftermath of that performance, but having not been included in the original list for the player auction, O’Brien would have to bide his time.


Now the Railway Union right-hander will have the perfect opportunity to put himself in the shop window by taking part in the inaugural Sri Lankan tournament, which will be run off over 18 days in late July and August and organised by Singapore-based Somerset Entertainment Ventures.


And although it pales in comparison to the juggernaut of its Indian counterpart, top players are expected to earn up to €20,000 for their involvement.


O’Brien is still to find out which of the seven sides he will be playing with, although he has been informed that former Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya will skipper the side and that West Indies batsman Darren Bravo and South African bowler Lonwabo Tsotsobe have also been approached to play in the same side.


“The opportunity actually came through (Ireland coach) Phil Simmons, who forwarded me an e-mail a while back, and subsequently Somerset Entertainment Ventures approached me,” said O’Brien yesterday. “It’s going to be a magnificent experience, and hopefully I’ll acquit myself well.”


For the time being, O’Brien will be concentrating on his return to county cricket with Gloucestershire after spending time with Nottinghamshire in 2009. His older brother, Niall, plays for Northamptonshire. He is looking forward to working under former New Zealand coach John Bracewell and will get plenty of opportunity to brush up on all things Sri Lankan, as the county have also signed Muttiah Muralitharan.


“I am very excited to have the opportunity to play for Gloucestershire, and work under one of the most successful coaches in domestic one-day history,” added O’Brien “It is going to be an honour to play with Murali.”


O’Brien is expected to join up with the side later this week and could make his debut in the Clydesdale Bank 40 match against Glamorgan in Cardiff on Sunday.

Afridi to play in inaugural Sri Lanka Premier League

Karachi: Top Pakistan cricketers are looking to showcase their Twenty20 skills at the inaugural edition of the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) later this summer.

Leading the list of Pakistani players roped in by Sri Lanka is the flamboyant Shahid Afridi, who has accepted an offer to lead one of the SLPL franchises.

"I've accepted an offer to be captain of one of the team in the Sri Lankan Premier League. It's a good opportunity and I will try to make the most of it," Afridi was quoted as saying in The News Wednesday.

Afridi said he has also received a similar offer to lead one of the franchises at the Bangladesh's Premier League, adding that he is looking forward to that assignment as well.

The Pakistan captain revealed that he has agreed on a three-year contract and will receive $35,000 for the inaugural SLPL season. The amount will double in 2012.

The Pakistan skipper is not the only player from his country to have signed a contract with SLPL. Other players who have joined the league include Pakistan's Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq, Shoaib Akhtar, Abdul Razzaq, Umar Gul and Umar Akmal.

"There is a comfortable window for us (Pakistan's cricketers) to feature in the league in Sri Lanka," said Afridi. "We have a sufficient break from international cricket this summer."

Afridi will go to Sri Lanka from England where he will be playing for Hampshire for their Friends Provident T20 campaign. He will become Hampshire's second overseas player for the tournament alongside Imran Tahir, the Pakistan-born South African spinner.

"There is a two-week break from the Hampshire assignment and I will use it to play in Sri Lanka," said Afridi.

Afridi and his teammates have been shunned by the organisers of the lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL) though several of them did feature in the inaugural edition of the event.

Afridi said he is pleased that Sri Lanka would be hosting its own Twenty20 league. He is hopeful that other major cricket-playing nations will follow suit.

The inaugural SLPL will span over 18 days with seven teams featuring in the inter-provincial competition. Apart from Pakistani players, other international stars confirmed for the event are Kieron Pollard, Chris Gayle, Daniel Vettori, Daniel Christian, Herschelle Gibbs and Kevin O'Brien.

PCB released Pakistan players to play in SLPL

Up to eight top Pakistan players are likely to be in the running to play in the first edition of the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL), allowing players from that country to finally benefit from some of the riches on offer in lucrative Twenty20 leagues around the world. The SLPL, likely to feature players from around the world, is scheduled to be held at the end of July and beginning of August this year, a window in the FTP where Pakistan has no commitments currently.

Both Pakistan captains - Shahid Afridi from the limited overs side and Misbah-ul-Haq from the Test side - have been approached, as have Shoaib Akhtar, Shoaib Malik and Umar Gul.

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The players were first approached directly by the organisers of the tournament, the Singapore-based Somerset Entertainment, something that the PCB wasn't pleased about. But eventually the organisers contacted the PCB asking for clearance for the players to participate and they have been given a positive response. "We told them, in theory, we have no issues with our players taking part in the tournament," a senior board official told ESPNcricinfo. "The first priority of each player of course will be Pakistan's international commitments and if there is something on in that window and the player concerned is picked for Pakistan, that commitment will take priority."

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The participation of Malik will depend on whether he will be cleared by the PCB's integrity committee, a condition which has kept him out of the national side since last summer.

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Players from Pakistan are currently the only ones from the Test-playing nations not to be taking part in the richest domestic Twenty20 league of all, the IPL. Though a number of players took part in the inaugural season of the tournament, in 2008, deteriorating political ties between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks later that year have led to them missing out since, much to the chagrin of the players themselves, some of whom can rightly claim to be among the best international players in the format. The players were even put into the auction for the third season of the IPL but no franchise was willing to buy them, given the potentially tricky diplomatic and logistical issues that could have emerged.

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For similar reasons, no Pakistan domestic side has taken part in the equally lucrative IPL spin-off, the Champions League, which brings together the best domestic Twenty20 sides from around the world. A few Pakistan players, including Afridi, Gul and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan have taken part in the Australian Big Bash but the timing of it generally tends to clash with international commitments and so curtails participation.

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There is also regular participation in Twenty20 competitions in England, as well as longer-term county contracts but by and large, Pakistan's players have missed out on the bonanza of the last few years. "We are aware that our players have not benefitted as others around the world have done, though much of this is out of our hands," the official said. "This will be a good opportunity, if things work out, for them to take part."

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Though full financial details of the league are yet to emerge, one estimate suggests that there will be three salary tabs with the highest at US$ 30,000.

Sri Lanka Premier League to have seven teams

The first edition of the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) will be a seven-team inter-provincial tournament played over approximately 18 days at the end of July and the beginning of August this year. The teams will play each other once, with the top four teams qualifying for the semi-finals. All the games will be played the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo and the winner of the tournament will qualify for the Champions League Twenty20.

ESPNcricinfo has learnt that the seven provinces that will be represented are Basnahira, Kandurata, Nagenahira, Ruhuna, Uthura, Uva and Wayamba. Sri Lanka Cricket will select the players for each team, with domestic players likely to be allotted to their home provinces, thereby ensuring the teams have local support.

Each team will have a mix of Sri Lanka and international players with total squad sizes between 16 and 18 players. The playing XI must consist of a minimum of seven Sri Lanka players and a maximum of four international players, with one Sri Lanka player being a current Under-21 cricketer. Each team will also have its share of icon or marquee players, as well as a prominent ex-Sri Lanka player as a mentor or coach.

International players will also be assigned to the various teams by the SLC national selection committee depending on the needs of each team. In this respect, SLC's approach differs from the IPL, in which teams were sold to franchises who then bid for players in an auction. Among the international players who will be taking part are Kieron Pollard, Chris Gayle, Shahid Afridi, Daniel Vettori, Daniel Christian, Herschelle Gibbs and Kevin O'Brien.

The SLPL has also approached a number of Indian players apart from those likely to be playing the Test series against England, and is waiting for the BCCI to approve their participation. The BCCI has already stated it has no problems with the proposed league and that Indian players are free to take part as long as there is no conflict with India's international or domestic schedule.

The league will be run by the Singapore-based Somerset Entertainment, which has bought the rights for five years. The television rights for the tournament have already been sold in Sri Lanka and the goal is to broadcast the tournament across all mediums in every cricketing nation. The matches will be played at 4 pm and 8 pm on most days, although some days will see only an 8 pm game.