SLPL (Sri Lanka Premier League) 2012

It is a great moment for the Sri Lankans that a tournament as big as Sri Lanka premier league is being played in the country. Cricket fans from all over the country and the world are looking forward to the biggest event that the world goes crazy about.
With the excitement increasing with each passing day, players and teams have promised to put on their best efforts and give their fans a terrific game of cricket. It is the first ever league matches that are going to be played in Sri Lanka.

The Opening Ceremony

The opening ceremony of the Mahindra Sri Lanka premier league was held on 10th August and organizers provided a live opening ceremony to around 80 countries. The timing of the ceremony was 7:30 according to the standard time of Sri Lanka. Sugathadasa indoor stadium was selected as the venue of the ceremony. Sports lovers will enjoy cricket right at home as ESPN star sports are going to telecast it live. The event, which is first of its kind in Sri Lanka, had Maxi Priest to perform along with the band. Fans all over the world were witness to this unforgettable event that had a cultural touch to it.

Format of the premier league

The season in Sri Lanka will run from 11th August to 31st August and is going to be a 20 - 20 matches held between two teams. The tournament consists of knockout stage and group stage, where seven teams will be playing a single round robin tournament in the group stage, while four teams will reach the semi-finals. Semi-finals will be played amongst two teams for the winning position. Semi-finals will be played on 28th and 29th august and the finals on 31st August. All the semi-final and final matches will be held on R.Premadasa stadium, Colombo.

The tournament will see a total of 24 matches being played over the three weeks and each team will comprise of four foreign players for each match.

Players and Teams

There are around 56 international players that are mostly from Australia and Pakistan. The local players who will play are 107 in numbers. However there will be no players from India and England. The teams list are, Basnahira Western province Bears, Kandurata Hill country kites, Nagenahira east Nagas, Ruhunu south Rhinos, Usthuru North Oryxes, Uva south western Unicorns and Wayamba North Western Wolves.

The captains of the teams are:
Basanahira XI-captain TM Dilshan
Wayamba XI - captain Mahela Jayawardane
Ruhunu XI - captain Sanath Jayasooriya
Kandurata XI - captain K.Sangakkar
Uva XI- captain Chaminda Vaas
Uthura XI - captain Daniel Vettori
Nehenagira XI - captain Sahid Afridi

The tournament will see seven teams slogging to win the trophy. Kandy and Colombo are the two venues that will host most of the prominent matches.

Matches

The inaugural match was between Nagenahira Nagas and Ruhuna Royals. Fans had already declared it as the most high profile match. The Premier league features international players who are in form like Shahid Afridi, Keamr Roach, Albie Morkel and all the top Sri Lankan cricketers. The coaching staff includes the likes of Waquar Younis, Tom Moody, and Trevor Bayliss.

However, certain changes can be seen in the players and the tournament has been hit by the absence of some significant players like Gayle and Abdur Rehman and Fidel Edwards. The players have stayed out of the tournament due to injuries and Shakid Al Hasan was denied to play with the Bangladesh cricket board. The replaced players are Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Jacob Oram, Kyle Mills, Rob Quiney and Fawad Alam.

Although no player from India will be seen in Sri Lanka, the tractor giant Mahindra of India will sponsor the tournament.

Last Updated on 23/08/2012