The ultimate battleground for the most entertaining and power-packed format of the game in Sri Lanka, Lanka Premier League 2022, is all set to begin on the 31st of July.
The stage is set for the journey to the top as the 5 teams were chosen through a player draft, which had so many interesting choices.
The players were divided into 6 main categories named Ruby, Sapphire, Diamond, Platinum, Gold and Silver, while the Diamond and Silver categories were further divided into subcategories. 353 players registered for the draft, including 180 foreign players and 173 local players. Each franchise picked 20 players from the draft, with 14 of them having to be local players and the 6 others having to be overseas players.
Ruby category had the highest value (60,000USD) in the draft, and 6 international stars who were picked from that category are as follows –
Dwaine Pretorius (Colombo Stars)
D’Arcy Short (Dambulla Giants)
Imad Wasim (Galle Gladiators)
Carlos Brathwaite (Kandy Falcons)
Evin Lewis (Jaffna Kings)
The 6 local players to be picked for the highest price cap were:
Angelo Mathews (Colombo Stars)
Dasun Shanaka (Dambulla Giants)
Danushka Gunathilake (Galle Gladiators)
Wanindu Hasaranga (Kandy Falcons)
Thisara Perera (Jaffna Kings)
If we are to compare the teams from the previous season and this season, it can be noted that a few changes have taken place, where players who played an integral part during the previous seasons for certain franchises have had to switch their allegiance to a whole new team.
Wanindu Hasaranga, who played a key role in the last 2 seasons for Jaffna to walk out victorious, asked for his release before the season 3 draft and he was pre-drafted by the renamed Kandy Falcons.
Sri Lankan ace pacer Dushmantha Chameera, who played the speedster role for Colombo Stars, was also picked by Galle Gladiators ahead of the draft. After captaining Colombo Stars for some matches in the absence of Angelo Mathews last season, Dhananjaya de Silva has also rejoined his former home Jaffna.
Niroshan Dickwella, who donned the keeping gloves for Dambulla Giants during season 2, will play for Colombo Kings this season. Bhanuka Rajapaksa, the former Captain of Galle Gladiators, will also wear a new jersey this time around as he was picked by Dambulla Giants.
Charith Asalanka represented Kandy last season and was picked by Colombo Stars for the 3rd season. The exciting white ball all-rounder for Sri Lanka, Chamika Karunaratne, who played for Dambulla in Season 2, will be playing alongside Hasaranga for the Kandy Falcons this season.
While the above-mentioned players only had to change teams, some of the popular names in the Sri Lankan Cricket circuit will have to completely sit out the 3rd season of LPL as they were not picked during the Draft.
The most notable name among them is that of Pathum Nissanka. Nissanka, who is the only Sri Lankan batter to be in the Top 10 of the ICC T20 batting rankings, was predicted to be an early pick in the draft, but he was overlooked to everyone’s surprise.
Lahiru Kumara, the fastest pace bowler in Sri Lanka, who also played as a permanent member of the Sri Lankan side during the T20 World Cup campaign last year, was also not picked during the draft. More popular names that will be missed this season are Akila Dhananjaya, Kasun Rajitha, Asitha Fernando, Lahiru Madhushanka, Lahiru Udara, Lahiru Samarakoon and Asela Gunaratne. Notably, Dananjaya was the leading wicket-taker at the recently concluded Major T20 domestic competition.
While some popular names missed out, new and exciting players will get the opportunity to be a part of an LPL franchise. The young man who marshalled the Lion Cubs at the Under 19 World Cup this year and took the international Cricket stage by storm after being the highest wicket taker in his very first ODI series, Dunith Wellalage, was deservingly grabbed by Jaffna Kings as a pre-draft pick.
Movin Subasinghe who is making a name for himself as a quality power hitter, who can also bowl some valuable overs, was picked for Galle Gladiators. Lakshitha Manasinghe, who bowled brilliantly during the recent encounters against Australia A, was also picked by Colombo Stars. Dilum Sudheera, the young left-arm spinner from Tamil Union who took a heap of wickets during the Major Clubs Emerging Tournament, also got his first LPL opportunity after getting picked by Dambulla Giants.
The 30 Overseas players picked this time around have changed a lot from the previous season. A majority of these star players will be making their LPL debuts. The list of the new overseas players for each franchise is as follows –
Colombo Stars :- Dominic Drakes, Asif Ali, Dwaine Pretorius & Fazalhaq Farooqi
Dambulla Giants :- D’Arcy Short, Ben Cutting, Sandeep Lamichchane, Tim Seifert, Haider Ali & Sheldon Cottrell
Galle Gladiators :- Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf & Janneman Malan,
Kandy Falcons :- Carlos Brathwaite, Fabian Allen, Andre Fletcher, Dewald Brevis & Chris Green
Jaffna Kings :- Evin Lewis, Hardus Viljoen, Shahanawaz Dahani & Tristan Stubbs
After all these changes and new arrivals, here are the final 20-member squads of each franchise.
Dambulla Giants –
Pre-Drafted Players – D’Arcy Short – USD 60,000, Dasun Shanaka – USD 60,000, Ben Cutting – USD 50,000, Bhanuka Rajapaksa – USD 50,000, Chaturanga de Silva – USD 40,000, Ramesh Mendis – USD 25,000, Nuwan Pradeep – USD 25,000, Tharindu Ratnayake – USD 15,000
Drafted Players – Sandeep Lamichhane – USD 40,000, Tim Siefert – USD 25,000, Haider Ali – USD 25,000, Sheldon Cottrel – USD 15,000, Pramod Madushan – USD 15,000, Lasith Crosspulle – USD 15,000, Kalana Perera – USD 10,000, Dilum Sudeera – USD 10,000, Sachitha Jayatilaka – USD 3,000, Dushan Hemantha – USD 3,000, Sasha De Alwis – USD 3,000, Ravindu Fernando – USD 3,000
Colombo Stars –
Pre-Drafted Players – Dwaine Pretorius – USD 60,000, Angelo Mathews – USD 60,000, Asif Ali – USD 50,000, Charith Asalanka – USD 50,000, Niroshan Dickwella – USD 40,000, Naveen Ul-haq – USD 25,000, Dinesh Chandimal – USD 25,000, Karim Janat – USD 15,000, Seekkuge Prasanna – USD 15,000, Jeffrey Vandersay – USD 15,00
Drafted Players – Dominic Drakes – USD 40,000, Fazalhaq Farooqi – USD 25,000, Dhananjaya Lakshan – USD 25,000, Ishan Jayaratne – USD 15,000, Muditha Lakshan – USD 10,000, Lakshitha Manasinghe – USD 10,000, Kevin Koththigoda – USD 3,000, Chathuranga Kumara – USD 3,000, Navod Paranavithana – USD 3,000, Chamod Battage – USD 3,000
Jaffna Kings –
Pre-Drafted Players – Evin Lewis – USD 60,000, Thisara Perera – USD 60,000, Hardus Vilojen – USD 50,000, Dhananjaya De Silva – USD 50,000, Shoaib Malik – USD 40,000, Maheesh Theekshana – USD – 40,000, Dunith Wellalage – USD 25,000, Praveen Jayawickrama – USD 15,000, Ashan Randika – USD 3,000
Drafted Players – Shahnawaz Dahani – USD 25,000, Binura Fernando – USD 25,000, Tristan Stubbs – USD 15,000, Suminda Lakshan – USD 15,000, Sadeera Samarawickrama – USD 15,000, Dilshan Madushanka – USD 10,000, Nipun Dhananjaya – USD 10,000, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth – USD 3,000, Theesan Vidushan – USD 3,000, T. Dinoshan – USD 3,000
Kandy Falcons –
Pre-Drafted Players – Carlos Brathwaite – USD 60,000, Wanindu Hasaranga – USD 60,000, Chamika Karunaratne – USD 50,000, Kamindu Mendis – USD 15,000
Drafted Players – Fabian Allen – USD 50,000, Andre Fletcher – USD 40,000, Isuru Udana – USD 40,000, Dewald Brevis – USD 25,000, Matheesha Pathirana – USD 25,000, Ashen Bandara – USD 25,000, Usman Shinwari – USD 15,000, Ashan Priyanjan – USD 15,000, Minod Bhanuka – USD 15,000, Avishka Perera – USD 10,000, Ashian Daniel – USD 10,000, Malinda Pushpakumara – USD 3,000, Janith Liyanage – USD 3,000, Lasith Abeyratne – USD 3,000, Kavin Bandara – USD 3,000
Galle Gladiators –
Pre-Drafted Players – Imad Wasim – USD 60,000, Danushka Gunathilaka – USD 60,000, Faheem Asraf – USD 50,000, Dushmantha Chameera – USD 50,000, Kusal Mendis – USD 40,000, Lakshan Sandakan – USD 25,000, Nuwan Thushara – USD 25,000, Pulina Tharanga – USD 15,000
Drafted Players – Janneman Malan – USD 40,000, Sherfane Rutherford – USD 25,000, Azam Khan – USD 25,000, Sarfaraz Ahamed – USD 15,000, Nuwanidu Fernando – USD 15,000, Nimesh Vimukthi – USD 15,000, Movin Subasingha – USD 10,000, Nipun Malinga – USD 10,000, Sachindu Colombage – USD 3,000, Lakshan Gamage – USD 3,000, Tharindu Kaushal – USD 3,000, Sammu Ashan – USD 3,000
Lanka Premier League Season 3 will officially begin on the 31st of July, and the matches are scheduled to take place at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium and the Hambantota Mahinda Rajapaksha International Cricket Stadium.
