Being the most popular sport with international recognition cricket reigns the sporting arena of Sri Lanka, achieving considerable success through her centurial cricketing past. Adding to the array of both local and global tournaments held in the country, Sri Lanka is prepared today to host the latest and distinctive ‘Sri Lankan Premier League’ (SLPL) tournament this August for the first time in the Island, which is to continue annually combining opportunity and entertainment for the provincial youth of the country.
The SLPL will feature the impending talent of enthusiastic young players representing the whole country. At this unique inter-provincial cricketing event SLPL, local youth from all across the country will be given the opportunity to play alongside not only members of the Sri Lanka national team but cricket stars from all over the world.
To break away from the club structure of cricket where reputed players always emerge from Colombo, the suburbs and several other main cities of the country where cricket clubs are mainly formed, Sri Lanka Cricket together with Singapore based Somerset Entertainment Ventures launched Sri Lanka Premier League as a singular cricket tournament that would give a new face to inter-provincial cricket, taking the sport to the remotest corners of the Island.
There will be a total of seven Provincial teams that will play and participate in the SLPL. Ruhuna Royals, Uthura Rudras, Uva Next, Wayamba United, Basnahira Cricket Dundee, Nagenahira Nagas and Kandurata Warriors, the seven teams representing seven provinces, will each have an iconic national cricketer from the respective areas who may or may not be the captains of each team. Therefore, Mahela Jayawardene who hails from the Wayamba Province has become the iconic player of the Wayamba team; Lasith Malinga from the Southern Province, the icon of the southern team while Kumar Sangakkara will grace the Kandurata Warriors as the iconic player of the Central province. This way, loyalty will be won for each province with fans of these renowned players supporting their respective teams.
Having taken a Provincial franchise approach to team formation and initiating sale to interested buyers, the subsequent franchise owners of each team had been given the opportunity to pick their players through a ballot system. This unique method had enabled each team owner to select the best players. The teams are composed of 18 players each, 12 local and six international players. A total of 42 players of international repute will therefore participate in the SLPL tournament from cricketing nations such as Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, West Indies and Pakistan. To ensure that the local youth are given the window of opportunity to step into the international world of cricket at least two players of each team will be under 21.
Winning the Cricket World Cup in 1996 has been the pinnacle of success in Sri Lankan Cricket, followed by achieving Runner Up status in 2007 and 2011. Becoming renowned globally, the cricket team currently holds several world records for highest team totals in all three forms of the game – Test, Twenty20 and ODI. The SLPL will provide yet another occasion for an impressive cricketing battle between the various players and provincial teams for the grand trophy.
The ceremonial opening of this sporting extravaganza – a new experience for Sri Lankan cricket lovers – will be held on August 10, 2012 at the Sugathadasa Stadium in Colombo. The series of matches of the tournament will take place from August 11, 2012 to August 31, 2012 played in Colombo at the R Premadasa Stadium as well as in Kandy at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium. Local singing stars Bathiya and Santhush will add colour to the tournament making SLPL this August making the event a fun-filled event full of entertainment.
Helping rural youth engage and develop in sports the carlton sports club endeavours to foster unity and understanding among the youth of all communities and take sri lanka forward
The renowned Carlton Sports Club with its strikingly fruitful endeavors to develop the sporting arena in Sri Lanka has opened doors for increasingly popular sports in the country such as Cricket, Basketball, Netball, Volleyball, Swimming, Athletics and Rugby. They have also organised well- liked events such as the Carlton Rugby 7s and the Colombo Night Races. Helping rural youth engage and develop in sports the Carlton Sports Club strives to foster unity and understanding among the youth of all communities and take Sri Lanka forward.
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