MUMBAI: After its efforts to launch a Twenty20 tournament in Augist 2020 failed to take off, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) reportedly sees a fresh opportunity at a time when neigbouring India is coming up short in its efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.
SLC is looking at hosting the Lankan Premier League in August with five teams competing over three weeks for top honours, ESPNCricinfo reports.
SLC reckons it has a chance to safely host a T20 league this year with significant foreign involvement as the island nation, unlike several other countries, has managed the health crisis well. Sri Lanka has so far reported less than 2,000 positive cases and only 11 deaths.
According to the cricket website, SLC CEO Ashley de Silva is understood to have written to other boards about the prospect of a LPL, while foreign players have also been approached.
Tournament planning, though, remains in its very preliminary stages, with no official announcement having yet come from the board.
SLC is looking at the August window to hold LPL because from that mont, foreign players, support staff, and broadcast personnel will not be required to undergo a long quarantine upon arrival in Sri Lanka.
They will be required to return two negative COVID-19 results, one shortly before boarding their flights in their respective countries and another soon after arriving in Sri Lanka and SLC is banking on this detail going in its favour.
SLC is also hopeful of hosting the Asia Cup in September while efforts are on to get India over for three ODIs and as many T20Is and Bangladesh for three Tests.
ESPNCricinfo quotes an unnamed SLC official as having said that government approval had been granted not just for a potential LPL, but also for the India, Bangladesh and Asia Cup tours.
Last week, India’s limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka was called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic with both the boards saying that the situation is not feasible for the games to go ahead.
Sri Lanka has also offered to host the Indian Premier League that has been postponed indefinitely.
For the record, SLC last announced plans to launch the LPL in early 2018. The plan that was announced was to include six teams in the tournament that was to take place in August 2018.
SLC first launched the Sri Lankan Premier League in 2012, in which Hong Kong-based Somerset Entertainment Ventures (SEV) was the commercial partner. But it was poorly supported and failed to convince franchise owners that they would eventually break even in subsequent years. At least one franchise owner had also seemingly corrupt intentions, having told an SLPL captain that franchises could only make money from the tournament if spot fixing occurred. The player immediately relayed this to the ICC’s anti-corruption unit.
