A total of 93 international cricketers, including English champion Liam Plunkett and New Zealand sailor Tim Southee, have been inducted into the inaugural Lanka Premier League (LPL) as of August 28.
Pakistan off-roader veteran Mohammad Hafeez and West Indies starter Dwayne Smith are also on the list, according to a “Ceylon Today” report.
The report also says that the Dubai-based sports broadcasting company Innovative Production Group (IPG) has received “full rights” from the LPL for five years.
“IPG has full rights to the tournament’s terrain, production, franchises, and television rights, where they pay $ 2 million annually for those rights,” the report says.
“… it is now up to IPG and the franchises to finalize their players through player negotiations or any other suitable method, and SLC will no longer be involved in the matter.”
The report also indicated that “a total of 30 international cricketers (six each per franchise) and five coaches will be selected for the league.” Additionally, a pool of 130 local players will be available for franchises to select.
“An iconic player from Sri Lanka would get a salary cap of $ 60,000, while a top cricketer would be in the range of $ 50,000 to $ 40,000. Others would fit into the ranges of $ 40,000 to $ 30,000 and $ 20,000 to 10,000, depending on your height.
“International players are expected to be in the $ 10,000-60,000 range.”
The T20 league will see 23 matches played at the four international venues of R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium, Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, and Suriyawewa Mahinda Rajapakse International Cricket Stadium.
Five teams have been named after the cities of Colombo, Kandy, Galle, Dambulla, and Jaffna.
The tournament ends on September 20.
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