Former Sri Lankan batsman Russel Arnold, who has been announced as Director of Lankan Premier League (LPL) tournament believes Sri Lanka have fallen behind due to lack of franchise-based tournament.
All Sri Lanka’s south Asian neighbours have flourishing franchise based tournaments and Arnold is confident of creating a vibrant competition of Sri Lanka’s own.
“We need something like this. We are falling behind our skill levels. There’s a huge interest for franchise-based competition and that culture is there. It’s a good opportunity for players to showcase their talent and get them play under pressure and develop their skill levels.” Arnold said.
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) launched Sri Lanka Premier League in 2011 but the tournament was unsuccessful and had to be abandoned a year later due to lack of sponsors but this time Arnold believes it will be a successful one and he informs that there’s plenty of interest already.
“We need to make the tournament something that everyone looks forward to. Not just the players, but fans, owners and everyone. I am confident that we can make this a success. There’s plenty of interest already and that excites me,” he added.
Arnold will be travelling to Malaysia on Monday night where the Asian Cricket Council is meeting. SLC officials are already there and Arnold will be introduced to key officials from the region as he takes charge in the new role. His work as tournament director begins on May 1
The LPL has been scheduled from August 18 to September 10. SLC President Thilanga Sumathipala had mentioned that SLC was looking at a six teams.
However, at present, the board seems to be comfortable with five teams with the possibility of increasing it to six teams next season. SLC has separated a window for the LPL tournament for the next five years.