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.

Chris Gayle hits 37 runs in an over!!

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.

Brilliant Bangalore demolish Kochi

Royal Challengers Bangalore 128 for 1 (Dilshan 52*, Gayle 44) beat Kochi Tuskers Kerala 125 for 9 (Aravind 2-20, Vettori 2-24) by nine wickets

If you aren't a fan of the Royal Challengers Bangalore, there's good news and bad news. The good news first: Tillakaratne Dilshan has found form late, and will not unleash any more violence in the IPL, since he is headed to England. The bad news is that Chris Gayle is in such form that you probably wouldn't notice Dilshan's absence. And then there is worse news - Bangalore are fielding like a team possessed. The hapless Kochi Tuskers Kerala ran into each facet of Bangalore's brilliance, and were dismantled clinically in a nine-wicket hiding, that came with 6.5 overs to spare.

On a day when Royal Challengers Bangalore went green, Gayle and Dilshan did more than their bit for the environment, setting up a finish before the floodlights had to take full effect. Gayle began the mayhem by depositing RP Singh into the second tier behind long-off in the first over. Dilshan responded by looting 20 runs off Ramesh Powar in the second over. What followed was not for children and the faint-hearted.

At the start of Prasanth Parameswaran's over, if you had stopped him and said he was going to do worse than concede six sixes, he would have laughed it off. After all, he was a man who had stared Virender Sehwag in the face and nailed him in his first IPL over. Today was a different day, though.

Parameswaran chugged in and delivered a length ball first up, and Gayle carved it over point for a six. Parameswaran did not flinch; Sehwag had done likewise the other day before perishing. Today, Parameswaran's second ball was a slower ball. Bad idea. Even worse, it was a no-ball. Gayle slashed him for six more. The free-hit was thumped through midwicket. The next ball was thundered through the covers. By now, Parameswaran was clearly rattled, and he ran in robotically to delivery two more length balls. Six over cover, followed by a shimmy down the track and a 91m six over long off. The last ball was a high full toss, and Gayle inside-edged for four more. The over had gone for 37, and Parameswaran had a story his grandchildren would ask him to relate years from now. Kochi, meanwhile were looking at an early flight out. Dilshan ensured they would have enough time to beat the Bangalore traffic and make it to the airport in time.

Dilshan targets Test success with young attack

Tillakaratne Dilshan wants to become the first Sri Lanka captain to secure a Test series victory in England after leaving the IPL early to lead his team. Although they famously won the one-off clash at The Oval in 1998, when Muttiah Muralitharan took 16 wickets, their best results in a series on English soil is the 1-1 in 2006 which was again secured thanks to a matchwinning effort by Muralitharan Trent Bridge.


This time there is no Muralitharan, but Dilshan has promised not to take a backward step over the next month. "Beating England in their own conditions in the early part of summer is not going to be easy, we have to play very good cricket to do that," he said. "But I am really confident with our boys. As a team we can give England a good run. It's a good challenge for everyone. Before the team leaves for England I will have a word with my players. We are going there with only one intention - to win the series. We are not going there just to draw or to survive in England we want to beat them. We are going to England with that mindset. I am seriously looking forward to the upcoming series."


How determined Dilshan is with his new responsibility can be gauged by the fact that he has made himself available to lead his team for the three-day tour opener, against Middlesex, starting on May 14 which meant cutting short his commitments with Royal Challengers BangaIore in the ongoing IPL tournament in India.


Unlike past captains Dilshan does not have the luxury of matchwinning bowlers of the calibre of Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas and Lasith Malinga all of whom have retired from Test cricket. However, he is confident with his new look bowling line-up, headed by Dilhara Fernando whose experience stretches to only 35 Tests and 90 wickets from a career spanning ten years, and believes team can match England, if not defeat them.


"We have to give the chance to youngsters and this is a good opportunity for them to prove how good they are at international cricket," he said. "As a captain I have a lot of confidence in my young bowlers that they can do a good job. I know the England batting line-up is very strong but I have faith with my fast bowlers and spinners that they can handle this batting line-up. I am sure these young fast bowlers will put their hands up and give their best to the team.


"We have only one experienced bowler in Dilhara but the others have the ability to deliver what they've got. With the help of fast bowling coach Champaka Ramanayake, and all the senior players who have played in England before, they can share their experience on how to adjust to the conditions in the early summer. This is a good challenge for me going with a set of young fast bowlers. As captain I have the fullest confidence that they can do a good job for Sri Lanka."


The bowlers picked to support Fernando are left-armer Chanaka Welegedara (six Tests, 12 wickets), Suranga Lakmal (two Tests, three wickets) and the uncapped pair of Nuwan Pradeep and Thisara Perera. Considering the career figures Sri Lanka's fast bowling looks pretty short of experience in comparison to the spin department. In Muralitharan's absence it will be handled by left-armer Rangana Herath (24 Tests, 78 wickets), Ajantha Mendis (15 Tests, 61 wickets) and Suraj Randiv (three Tests, 14 wickets).


Dilshan admitted that batting will be Sri Lanka's forte. "We have the same strong batting line-up we've had for the past four or five years in Test cricket. The only thing is the bowling unit is new and inexperienced. Our strength is batting but overall I am really happy with the 16-member squad. I have allrounders, spinners, fast bowlers and good batsmen. This team can turn out to be a good one in the future."


Dilshan's way of looking at everything positively is certain to rub off on the team. "I don't want to change my approach or attitude towards the game because I am captain. With my positive batting I have been very successful. I am not going to change too much from what I have been doing in the last three or four years. I have to adjust and take decisions in the middle which is the only change I foresee from what I have been doing. I am a positive character and I enjoy playing the game. I may sometimes take decisions which others might be surprised with. I think I can do a good job."


Already the responsibility of captaincy has brought a change in Dilshan. He has discarded his earring and done away with the tint in his hair. "As a captain I have to set an example for the youngsters. I have to maintain discipline both on and off the field. As captain I want to set a high standard on the field all the time. We are ambassadors of our country.


"The last few years we have played very good cricket, we have been runners up twice in the 50-over World Cup and once in the World Twenty20. We are a very consistent cricket team and I want to carry that forward by adding a few small things of my own. I need to discuss it with the new coach and coaching staff."


Dilshan's appointment as captain to succeed Kumar Sangakkara who stood down after the World Cup final defeat against India did come in for universal approval, but Dilshan isn't worried about winning any popularity contests. "If you take five people you can get five different views. Everyone can say different things about me but the Cricket Board and the selectors had the confidence to appoint me as captain," he said.


"As a cricketer it's a great achievement to captain your country. I think I am capable of leading this team and at the same time enjoy my captaincy. I am going to get 100 percent out of the players. As captain I may take surprise decisions for that's the kind of player I am. I am going with a positive frame of mind. I might turn out to be a different captain for Sri Lanka," said Dilshan.


Dilshan has still not celebrated his appointment as Sri Lanka captain, but wants to keep it until the end of the England tour. "I was a little bit excited when I first heard of my new appointment when I got a call from the cricket board. I was in India at that time and I spoke to my family and everyone was happy. I want to first finish the tour of England before celebrating the occasion." If Sri Lanka beat England he will have every right for a huge party.