Sri Lanka name 56 foreign players for SLPL

Sri Lanka Cricket has named 56 foreign players who will play in the inaugural Sri Lanka Premier League. There are no India or England players apart from Azhar Mahmood among the 56, who were picked by the seven franchises via a draft system in Colombo on Thursday.The list is dominated by players from Australia (18) and Pakistan (13.

The franchises' overseas 

                                                                                                                                            

(all values in US $)

Uthura:  Shakib Al Hasan (25,000), Brendan Taylor (10,000), Kevon Cooper (15,000), Imran Farhat (20,000), Fidel Edwards (20,000), David Miller (25,000), Dillon du Preez (20,000), Samuel Badree (20,000)

Nagenahira:  Mitchell Marsh (30,000), Imran Nazir (20,000), Travis Birt (25,000), Ahmed Shahzad (20,000), Ben Laughlin (20,000), Elias Sunny (12,000), Musfiqur Rahim (20,000), Nasir Hossain (16,000)

Ruhuna:  Shahid Afridi (50,000), Daniel Harris (30,000), Ryan Harris (30,000), Aaron Finch (30,000), Jerome Taylor (20,000), Nathan McCullum (25,000), Ryan McLaren (15,000), Richard Levi (25,000)

Wayamba:  Azhar Mahmood (30,000), Umar Akmal (25,000), Tamim Iqbal (18,000), Colin Ingram (20,000), Kemar Roach (25,000), James Faulkner (25,000), Abdul Razzaq (25,000), Brad Hogg (25,000)

Kandurata:  Saeed Ajmal (25,000), Misbah-ul-Haq (25,000), Sohail Tanvir (20,000), Chris Lynn (20,000), Dane Vilas (10,000), Albie Morkel (35,000), Johan Botha (25,000), Adam Voges (25,000)

Basnahira:  Brad Hodge (30,000), Marlon Samuels (30,000), Daniel Smith (20,000), Dirk Nannes (35,000), Robin Peterson (20,000), Tim Southee (25,000), Clint McKay (25,000), Cameron Borgas (20,000)

Uva:  Andrew McDonald (35,000), Umar Gul (25,000), Shoaib Malik (35,000), Callum Ferguson (30,000), James Franklin (30,000), Abdur Rehman (20,000), Hammad Azam (15,000), Chris Gayle (100,000)

Gayle and Afridi international icons for SLPL

  West Indies opener Chris Gayle and Pakistan allrounder Shahid Afridi, among the biggest entertainers in the Twenty20 format, have been named the two international icon players in the inaugural Sri Lanka Premier League that begins August 10. The presence of the duo, who will join five other Sri Lanka players as icons of their respective teams, lends the fledgling league some star power and has the potential to boost viewership.

  Gayle, who is set to play New Zealand in five ODIs and two Tests at home in a series that ends August 6, will represent the Uva province, while Afridi will play for Nagenahira, ESPNcricinfo has learned.

  Last week Sri Lanka Cricket auctioned the seven Sri Lanka Premier League teams for an average price of $4.3 million. A number of Indian companies are believed to have successfully bid for teams in the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL), highlighting the lure of the franchise model in cricket's largest market despite the BCCI's reluctance to allow Indian players to participate.

  Among the companies are the Wadhawan Group, a business conglomerate with interests in real estate, retail and education, India Cricket Dundee, an Indian fan organisation along the lines of the Barmy Army, and the Delhi-based Rudra Group, which also has interests in real estate.

A player draft will be conducted on July 5 and 6, with a lottery held to determine the order in which players are picked. SLC will determine the value of the contract for each player in advance and the franchises will be made aware of the cost of the player. The players will be drafted in two groups - the first consisting of players from Sri Lanka and the second, the foreign players. The draft is being seen as the best way to ensure that players are evenly distributed among the teams, making it a level playing field.

  The SLPL will run for three weeks, with the final to be held on August 31. There will be 24 games in total, split between Colombo and Pallekele. Teams will be allowed a maximum of 18 players, out of which six can be foreign players. Teams will be allowed play a maximum of four foreign players per game. Out of the remaining seven players in the XI, one must be a Sri Lanka Under-21 international.

The SLPL's icon players

•   Basnahira - Tillakaratne Dilshan

•   Kandurata - Kumar Sangakkara

•   Nagenahira - Shahid Afridi

•   Ruhuna - Lasith Malinga

•   Uthura - Muttiah Muralitharan

•   Uva - Chris Gayle

•   Wayamba - Mahela Jayawardene

Original Artcle Here >>>

Indian companies among SLPL franchise owners

A number of Indian companies have successfully bid for teams in the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL), highlighting the lure of the franchise model in cricket's largest market despite the BCCI's reluctance to allow Indian players to participate, according to reports.

Among the winners are the Wadhawan Group, a business conglomerate with interests in real estate, retail and education, India Cricket Dundee, an Indian fan organisation along the lines of the Barmy Army, and Varun Beverages Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, the agent for Pepsi in Sri Lanka.

The Wadhawan Group bought Wayamba for $5.02 million, the highest price for any of the franchises. Wayamba represented Sri Lanka in the first two Champions League T20 tournaments in 2009 and 2010 and has Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lanka captain, as it's icon player. The group has been involved with cricket in the past, most notably as sponsors of the New Zealand national team, the Victoria Bushrangers and VicSpirit teams through Dheeraj East Coast, a joint venture between Dheeraj Realty, the group's real estate company, and East Coast LLC, an Australian company.

Mumbai-based India Cricket Dundee (ICD) bid $4.33 million to buy the Basnahira franchise. Formed in 2010, ICD's stated aim is to create a "widespread fan base that will be able to support the Indian cricket team all year round, whether at home or on tours away", according to their website.

Varun Beverages, based in the West Province of Sri Lanka, won the rights to the Nagenahira franchise for $ 3.22 million, the lowest price for a franchise. The company is a subsidiary of RJ Corp, which includes InBev India International Private Limited, which distributes beers such as Stella Artois and Budweiser in India. The group also runs the Delhi Public School in Gurgaon.

Kandurata was the second most expensive team at $4.98 million and was picked up by Number One Sports Consulting Private Limited. The Uva and Ruhuna franchises were bought by Success Sports and Pearl Overseas respectively for $4.6 million each, while Rudra Sports Private Limited picked up Uthura for $3.4 million. The news was reported in the Sri Lankan Daily Mirror.

A player draft will be held on July 5 and 6 to determine the composition of the teams. Each team can have a maximum of 18 players, including six foreign players. The SLPL starts on August 10, with the final to be held on August 31. There will be 24 games in total, split between Colombo and Pallekele.

The SLPL franchise owners

·         Wayamba - Wadhawan Holdings Private Limited, $5.02 million

·         Kandurata - Number One Sports Consulting Private Limited, $4.98 million

·         Ruhuna - Pearl Overseas Limited, $4.6 million

·         Uva Success Sports Private Limited, $4.6 million

·         Basnahira -Indian Cricket Dundee Limited, $4.33 million

·         Uthura - Rudra Sports Private Limited, $3.4 million

·         Nagenahira - Varun Beverages Lanka Private Limited, $3.22 million

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A bout SLPL

Twenty20’s massive popularity and status as the most exciting and entertaining format of cricket will be further enhanced by this newest tournament to the world of cricket. The tournament will be held in line with the MCC “SPIRIT OF CRICKET” guidelines.

International players will be playing in the SLPL alongside Sri Lankan national cricketers and young Lankan hopefuls.

The first edition of SLPL Twenty20 will feature 7 Provincial teams which will adhere to a compulsory ruling of no more than 6 overseas players in each squad. However, it will be mandatory for each team to field only 4 overseas players in the playing eleven, whilst the remaining 7 players will all be Sri Lankans, with one player out of the said seven players will be an under-21 cricketer.

SLC shall, through this tournament, increase the number of Provincial teams from the existing number of 5 teams to 7 teams, in order to provide more opportunities to a vast number of talented players who are striving to advance to the next level of their cricketing abilities.

Each Provincial team shall draw elements of its unique branding/personality from the Province it represents.

The Provinces in pursuit of the SLPL 2012 Title for Season 1 are as follows:-

Ø  Basnahira Bears
Ø  Kandurata Kites
Ø  Nagenahira Nagas
Ø  Ruhuna Rhinos
Ø  Uthura Oryxes
Ø  Uva Unicorns
Ø  Wayamba Wolves

The names of the respective Sri Lankan Icon Players for each Province will be released shortly.

All 24 matches will be telecast live globally, and SLC believes that millions of television viewers across the globe will enjoy this tournament.

Grounds/Venues

              All matches will played R.Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo and Pallekale International Cricket Stadium in Kandy.