A grand debut for LPL

Thisara Perera led Jaffna outfit to win the 2020 edition of LPL

By Shamseer Jaleel

Lanka Premier League (LPL) brought light at the end of the tunnel for the sports loving public and the sportsmen in the country. Hats off to Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) President Shammi Silva, Tournament Director Ravin Wickremaratne, his hardworking team, Health Ministry headed by Prof. Arjun Silva, Sri Lanka Army and its Commando troops who did a magnificent job in conducting this event without any hiccups. 

The major risk was taken by Minister of Sports Namal Rajapaksa; the young minister and former national rugby skipper of the county led from the front with many obstacles coming his way.

LPL which was conducted according to the Indian Premier League (IPL) rules and regulations brought five top teams in to the battlefield and in the end saw Jaffna winning the event getting the better of an unthinkable finalist, Galle outfit. Kandy a team with some star studded national players from the hosting country could not reach the semi-finals, which was a shock to many supporters of the Central Hills. 

All teams were put up in Hambantota Shangri-La and the PCR tests were done regularly with each of the players and officials going through a minimum of 10 tests by the end of the tournament. Very strict guidelines were maintained with a seven-day quarantine gone through by players plus officials while the national players coming in from the bubble in Kandy who were training for the South African tour went through three days of quarantine.   Two of the players Sohail Tanvir (Kandy Tuskers), Ravinderpal Singh (Colombo Kings) both were tested positive and moved in to a quarantine hotel which kept the tournament moving on smoothly without any disruption due to the very efficient health system maintained. Security provided by Sri Lanka Army was above average as usual where all the teams felt at home. One more notable point was the ground condition at Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium (MRICS) where 24 matches were conducted in only 20 days. Ground curator and ever green, Godfrey Dabrera did an excellent job where it gave all the batsmen, bowlers and spectators an equal share to enjoy.

Overseas stars such as Irfan Pathan, Munaf Patel (both from India), Andre Russell (West Indies), Brendon Taylor (Zimbabwe), Qais Ahmad, Gurbaz, Usman Shinwari (all from Afghanistan), Dale Steyn (South Africa), Johnson Charles (West Indies), Laurie Evans (England), Mohamed Amir and Shoaib Malik (Pakistan) were the star studded players in the LPL 2020 who never turned down the request made by Sri Lanka Cricket. Shahid Afridi was unfortunate to leave the tournament early due to the illness of his daughter. One of the Icon players of the tournament Chris Gayle (West Indies) pulled out of the tournament at the last moment due to an injury. 

The inaugural Lanka Premier League saw Jaffna Stallions led by Thisara Perera win prize money of Rs. 18.5 million and runners-up Galle Gladiators led by Bhanuka Rajapakse walked away with a prize money of Rs. 9.25 million while the Player of the Series was the unplayable, Wanindu Hasaranga of Jaffna Stallions who walked away with Rs. 1.85 million. Danushka Gunathilake (Galle) was the highest scorer of the tournament aggregating well over 50 in average. Player of the final was Shoaib Malik (Jaffna) for his fine all round performance with bat and bowl. After a well-organised event led by Tournament Director Ravin Wickremaratne, Vice President of SLC who played a major role with many sleepless nights, he announced that the 2021 event will take place in July/August 2021 with one more team added to the list with Eastern Province making their debut at LPL. One thing for sure is it will attract more overseas players with the schedule not colliding with any international matches during these two months. Further with Jaffna winning the event with three youngsters given the opportunity to represent their teams surely the game will go to the next level in their area with more youngsters taking in to cricket plus likely a cricket stadium to be built in Jaffna region in the coming years.