Former LPL Dambulla franchise owner granted bail

Former owner of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) franchise, Dambulla Thunders, Tamim Rahman who was remanded over match-fixing allegations has been granted bail. 

He was released on a personal bail of Rs. 500,000 and two sureties of Rs. 10 million each by Colombo Chief Magistrate Thilina Gamage yesterday. 

Rahman, a British citizen of Bangladesh origin, was arrested at the Katunayake Airport on 22 May, a day after the player auction for the LPL 2024, and was remanded by the Colombo Magistrate’s Court.

He was arrested by officials of the Special Investigation Unit for the Prevention of Offences Relating to Sports at the Sports Ministry over allegations of match-fixing. 

Following the arrest of Rahman, the ownership of the Dambulla Thunders franchise was terminated by the LPL organisers.

In a joint statement, Sri Lanka Cricket and LPL organisers announced that Sequoia Consultants, Inc., a leading civil engineering consulting firm based in Los Angeles, California are the new owners of the franchise Dambulla and will be operated under DeSilva Holdings, specifically set up for this purpose. Dambulla will be known as Dambulla Sixers in LPL 2024. 

The 2024 LPL is scheduled to be played from 1-21 July at three venues Kandy, Dambulla and Colombo.