LPL Team Preview: New-look Galle Titans search for winning formula

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Galle Titans will begin their LPL 2023 journey against Dambulla Aura on 31st of July at R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo.

History

Year Matches Wins Losses No Result League Stage Standing Final Standing
2020 10 3 7 0 4th Runners-up
2021 10 5 4 1 2nd Runners-up
2022 10 2 8 0 4th Playoffs (4th)
Total 30 10 19 1  

 

The Galle franchise played the first three seasons as Galle Gladiators, but they are set to play this edition under new ownership as Galle Titans.

Former Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi captained the Galle side in the inaugural season, before being left out of the tournament after three games due to personal reasons. Lankan left-hander Bhanuka Rajapaksa led the team in the remaining matches, taking the side to the finals. However, they ended up as runners-up after being outplayed by Jaffna Stallions in the Final.

The Gladiators reached the finals in the second season too, under Bhanuka Rajapaksa, but once again they failed to get the better of Jaffna Kings in the final. The third season of the LPL was a rather disappointing one for them, under the new leadership of Kusal Mendis. They reached the playoffs with just two wins and ended up with losing to Colombo in the Eliminator.

With a new combination, Sri Lanka limited-over skipper Dasun Shanaka is set to lead Galle Titans in the fourth edition.

Key Players

Skipper Dasun Shanaka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Bangladeshi all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and Proteas’ mystery spinner Tabraiz Shamsi are the four players who joined Galle Titans as pre-signed players before the inaugural player auction.

Rajapaksa, who has scored over 3000 runs in T20s with a strike rate of 135.14, will play a key role for the Titans with his explosive batting. Shakib’s experience in this format will be another massive boost as the veteran all-rounder has played over 400 T20 games, with more than 6000 runs and 455 wickets as well.

The Titans had the pick of some of the best local talents, buying the likes of Shevon Daniel, Lasith Croospulle, Lahiru Samarakoon, Pasindu Sooriyabandara and Sohan De Livera. Apart from them, Titans have also signed with some of the best national-capped bowlers such as Lahiru Kumara, Kasun Rajitha, Vishwa Fernando and Akila Dananjaya along with Tim Seifert, Chad Bowes, Mohammad Mithun and Ben Cutting as their overseas signings. However, according to the latest reports, Aussie all-rounder Cutting will not be available for the Titans in the upcoming season. It is also reported that Milan Rathnayake is set to join the squad as cover for Lahiru Kumara who is recovering from injury.

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The contributions of skipper Shanaka and Rajapaksa with the bat are going to be really crucial for them with Shanaka amongst the top 10 in the LPL batting charts with an aggregate of 544 runs at a brilliant strike rate of 147.42 while the southpaw has stroked 454 runs in the LPL.

On the bowling front, Nuwan Thushara has taken 30 wickets for the Galle franchise as the tournament’s second leading wicket-taker overall, but the Titans will miss his services this time as he moves to Jaffna Kings. From the current squad, Kasun Rajitha has the most wickets in the LPL having bagged 19 wickets with a best of 5/22 at an excellent average of 7.01. Their spin attack is going to be their strength with the combination of Tabraiz Shamsi, Akila Dananjaya and Seekkuge Prasanna.

Squad

Dasun Shanaka (c), Shakib Al Hasan, Tabraiz Shamsi, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Seekkuge Prasanna, Lahiru Kumara, Ashan Priyanjan, Lasith Croospulle, Sohan de Livera, Minod Bhanuka, Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Mohammad Mithun, Shevon Daniel, Mohammed Shiraz, Lahiru Samarakoon, Tim Seifert, Kasun Rajitha, Chad Bowes, Akila Dananjaya, Vishwa Fernando, Sonal Dinusha, Avishka Perera, Anuk Fernando

Fixtures

Against Date Venue Time
Dambulla Aura 31st July R. Premadasa (Colombo) 3.00 PM
B – Love Kandy 1st August R. Premadasa (Colombo) 7.30 PM
Jaffna Kings 4th August Pallekele 3.00 PM
Colombo Strikers 7th August Pallekele 3.00 PM
B – Love Kandy 8th August Pallekele 3.00 PM
Dambulla Aura 11th August R. Premadasa (Colombo) 7.30 PM
Jaffna Kings 13th August R. Premadasa (Colombo) 3.00 PM
Colombo Strikers 15th August R. Premadasa (Colombo) 7.30 PM

 

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