$3 m floor price set for T20 league franchises

Tuesday, 19 June 2012 01:57 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

MUMBAI: The cash-strapped Sri Lanka Cricket board (SLC) has set a floor price of $3 million for the T20 league franchises, a paltry amount compared to the IPL.

When IPL launched in 2008, it had fixed a minimum price of $50 million, which later zoomed to $225 million when two teams were added in 2010.

The SLC said it will lease out seven teams for seven years and has set in motion the process of identifying franchises for the Sri Lanka Premier League.

Bids are invited for the T20 league which has been formed on the lines of cash rich Indian Premier League.

The last day to submit bids is 25 June, while the names of successful bidders will be announced the same day. Interested entities can bid for a maximum of three franchises.

The first edition of SLPL Twenty20 will feature seven provincial teams who will play a total of 24 matches at two venues Colombo and Pallekele. The SLPL will be played from 10-31 August before the ICC Twenty20 World Cup which will be held in Sri Lanka.

Each team will be allowed to have only 18 players in their squad with a compulsory ruling of no more than six overseas players in each squad.

However, teams can field only four overseas players in the playing eleven, while the remaining seven players will be Sri Lankan’s with one player mandatorily being an under-21 cricketer.

The players will be selected through draft process with players being divided into two groups. The first group will consist of players from Sri Lanka while the second group will include foreign players.

It was the Indian cricket board’s reluctance to allow Indian players in the SLPL that led to the postponement of the league last year.

However, the SLC has made it clear that it will go ahead with the league even without Indian players. “We will go ahead with the tournament with or without Indian players,” SLC Secretary Nishantha Ranatunga said.

The Sri Lankan board has got the commitment of most full member countries, who have committed to release their players for the tournament, he added.

Somerset Entertainment Ventures is commercial rights holder for the tournament.

All the matches of SLPL will be televised live by Carlton Sports in Sri Lanka. CSN is owned by family members of Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa. (Sourc: indiantelevision.com)