Lanka Premier League to begin on Nov 21, player draft to take place on Oct 19

The upcoming Lanka Premier League 2020 (LPL 2020) season is scheduled to launch on November 21. Additionally, the Sri Lanka Cricket Board recently announced that the LPL draft for players will be conducted on October 19. Earlier, the LPL draft was scheduled to be organised on October 9 but was later shifted by the Sri Lanka Cricket Board in wake of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

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Lanka Premier League updates: Players LPL draft gets a new date by SLC

As per the latest announcement by the Sri Lanka Cricket Board, the names of around 75 overseas cricketers will be featuring in the LPL draft for the much-awaited LPL 2020 season. Moreover, four of the five competing franchises have also found owners and are currently finalising their contracts with the board, according to SLC vice-president Ravin Wickramaratne.

The health authorities in Sri Lanka are discussing implementing a 14-day isolation period for overseas cricketers travelling to the island nation for the upcoming LPL 2020 season. However, Wickramaratne stated that they are hoping to allow players participating in Dream11 Indian Premier League 2020 (IPL 2020) season a direct entry to Sri Lanka for the tournament. The reason being, the Dream11 IPL 2020 season is also being conducted inside a secure bio-bubble in wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

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Earlier this week, the Lanka Premier League organisers confirmed the venues for the LPL 2020 season. The tournament is now on schedule to be conducted only across two venues, namely at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy and Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium in Hambantota. The aforementioned decision was made to simplify the process of creating a bio-secure bubble for all players and match officials.

Sri Lanka Cricket’s latest announcement on Lanka Premier League 2020 (LPL 2020)

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LPL 2020 team updates

The LPL 2020 season will compete between five franchises, namely Colombo Lions, Dambulla Hawks, Galle Gladiators, Jaffna Cobras and Kandy Tuskers. The Galle Gladiators team will be featuring the likes of T20 veterans like Shahid Afridi and Lasith Malinga. Moreover, other teams are likely to feature several cricketing superstars with most of them currently busy with their Dream11 IPL 2020 commitments in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

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Image source: Sri Lanka Cricket Twitter