Lanka Premier League postponed due to Quarantine Rules till mid-November
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) had plans of inaugurating the Lanka Premier League Twenty 20 tournament will be held from August 28 to September 20.
With over 70 international players and 10 top coaches had confirmed their availability.
The local board had finalised 23 matches schedule which was set to be played from August 28 to September 20. Four International Venues were finalised for the games on the island.
However, due to current pandemic situations and strict quarantine rules in the country, it seemed difficult for the tournament to take place from August 28.
“There are some stricter quarantine rules by the government and there is not much time in hand, so it would not have been possible for us to host the tournament now,” said de Silva.
SLC had trusted Sri Lanka’s health ministry would permit a shorter and more adaptable isolate period for those legitimately associated with the competition – players, crew, coordinators and commentators.
But with many of the potential new arrivals coming from nations dealing with Covid-19 flare-ups, government health ministry officials had not assented.
“LPL can take place from November 20th to December 12th since the schedule is free at the time, so that is what we are planning,” said SLC vice-president Ravin Wickramaratne.
Also, the Bangladesh team will also tour during October with the BCB even asking to send a development squad, meaning there may be as many as 60 arrivals from Bangladesh. Also quarantining these players might make the tour less feasible.
We have asked the health ministry to be more lenient as we go forward,” he said. “If the players are to be isolated from the rest of the people, then the charges for the stay and other facilities have to be paid by the board so the tour becomes less feasible.”
With the IPL, beginning from September 19 most of the players won’t feature in any other leagues across the globe. “That’s one of the reasons behind the postponement. We will host it post the IPL,” de Silva said.
Interestingly the names of the teams are similar to the ones in Indian Premier League:
You get a deja vu feeling, with the names of the teams for the 2020 Lanka Premier League (LPL). – Colombo Super Kings (CSK), Dambulla Capitals (DC), Galle Lions (GL), Jaffna Sunrisers (JS), Kandy Royals (KR).
Due to pandemic, the English Team cancelled their tour to Sri Lanka on March 13. Since then, South Africa and Bangladesh have also opted out of their tours to Sri Lanka.
Also read: BCCI gets green signal from the government to host IPL in UAE.