One of the five franchises in the Lanka Premier League (LPL) tournament, Jaffna Stallions held their inaugural press conference yesterday (25) at the Thinnai Hotel, Jaffna with the participation of management staff and a few special players from the franchise.
A UK-based consortium led by Mr. Brindon Bagirathan own the franchise and the squad will be coached by former Sri Lanka player Thilina Kandamby.
Stallions boast one of the strongest squads in the LPL, captained by Sri Lanka star Thisara Perera with a mix of national caps Wanindu Hasaranga, Avishka Fernando, Dhananjaya de Silva and Suranga Lakmal. The overseas players who were picked for the squad are current No.01 T20 batsman Dawid Malan, Pakistanis Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali and Usman Shinwari.
Photo Album – Jaffna Stallions Launch and press meet | LPL
The squad is also boosted by the presence of exciting talents, Theivendram Dinoshan (18), Vijayakanth Viyaskanth (19) and Kanagarathnam Kabilraj (21) who are hailing from Jaffna. The trio was selected as supplementary players for the Jaffna Stallions and will be with the squads in the bubble. They will commence their training with national and international players of the squad soon and could even get the chance to play if any squad member gets injured.
Jaffna Stallions franchisee CEO Selva Waran said, “The inclusion of three Jaffna-born youngsters in our team is testimony to the kind of cricketing talent this province has. It is also an encouragement to the cricketing community of Jaffna and rural cricketers across the island”
Watch – Jaffna Stallions – LPL 2020 – Squad Breakdown
“I am confident that LPL will further boost cricketing interest among young cricketers and offer real opportunities in the future. Our consortium shall strive to work beyond the LPL matches and make real grassroots progress to help the development of cricket in Jaffna. We hope one day one of our kids will play at national and international level,” he further added.
Read – Who nailed the player draft? – Squad breakdown | LPL
The core motivation of the franchise will be to develop cricket in the Northern Province in Sri Lanka. The selection of the above three players will encourage and enrich the cricketing community in Jaffna and across the island. In the press release issued by Jaffna Stallions, it was also mentioned that the aspiration of the franchise is to register as a professional club with Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) based in Jaffna and to take part in SLC tournaments in future. It is also hoped that this would pave the way to developing a first-class cricket ground with academy facilities in the Northern Province.
Jaffna Stallions Chief Strategist A. Anandan said, “It gives me immense pleasure to present this team to the world, and I am sure we will go all the way to the final with Thisara Perera as the captain and Thilina Kandamby as the coach. We are also very proud to present the three home-grown talented youngsters from Jaffna. Our consortium comprises a group of humble people who wish to ring hope for aspiring youth in Jaffna, enabling a new pathway to gain entry to higher grade cricket,”
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