Hero Nidahas Trophy to serve as forerunner to SLPL

By Madushka Balasuriya

Sri Lanka Cricket believes next month’s Hero Nidahas Trophy will provide the ideal platform for the proposed Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL). 

The SLPL, SLC revealed, although still at the strategic planning stage, will definitely take place later this year, with the hope that the international exposure derived from next month’s tri-series will serve as a boon for the Sri Lankan cricket brand.

“We believe we have the best package, we’ve got the best formula, we’ve got the best position to present the next Lankan Premier League. The Nidahas Trophy is going to give us that platform, the Nidahas trophy is going to give us the place where we have never ever seen our country’s cricket being positioned in the global market,” said SLC President ThilangaSumathipala at a media briefing yesterday announcing the tournament sponsors for the Nidahas Trophy 2018.

The tournament, which is being held to commemorate Sri Lanka’s 70th year of independence, will see Bangladesh and India take part alongside Sri Lanka in a T20 triangular series from 6-18 March. As the tournament is outside of ICC’s Future Tours Programme (FTP), for the first time since 2004 SLC have independently negotiated media and broadcasting rights.

The series, whose title sponsor is Hero MotoCorp Ltd, is expected to be broadcast in over 150 countries both terrestrially and digitally, resulting in the largest ever viewership for a tournament hosted by Sri Lanka Cricket. SLC expects the tournament, over the course of seven matches, to bring in a net profit of Rs. 1 billion. 

DSports and Channel 9 have been granted broadcasting and media rights for India and Bangladesh respectively, while ITW Consulting were awarded ground sponsorship, advertisement and residual media rights. ITW will therefore be streaming the tournament live online to 150 countries.

“Digital markets have never been exploited by Sri Lanka before but now we have secured the digital rights separately. So we are getting worldwide, world-class platforms, taking Sri Lankan cricket into your mobile phone, into your home, in an unprecedented network of expansion,” said Sumathipala.

“The territories and areas that we’re going to with this tournament we have never ever been to before. This tournament will be viewed, listenedto and read about more than any tournament ever held in Sri Lanka. This tournament is going to have a huge presence globally and as a result of that you will see more and more people will want to partner Sri Lankan Cricket in the years to come.”

Aiding SLC in this endeavour is sports marketing agency Lagardère Sports Asia, who were brought in mid-2017 as a commercial advisor to the governing body. Sumathipala explained that while the agency was brought in initially for the sole purpose of assisting with the Nidahas Trophy, there have been talks within the Executive Committee of retaining their services for the SLPL.

“We’re quite happy to retain a firm of their calibre, working with us for the premier league. We’re in discussions at the moment but our matter in hand at the moment is the Nidahas Trophy, for which we still have several aspects to finalise.”