SLPL to promote young talent
Dilanka MANNAKKARA
Sri Lanka Captain Mahela Jayawardene said that when he first played
for Sri Lanka, he never had big opportunities like the ones that young
players have nowadays. He said so at the official launch of the Sri
Lanka Premier League (SLPL) at Cinnamon Grand Hotel, in front of a host
of media personnel, cricketers and well wishers last evening.
“Three under 21 players have to be there in each SLPL squad while one
player must be included in the final XI. So this is a great initiative
taken towards the benefit of the young players. It is a fantastic
opportunity for youngsters to play among greats of the game and share
their experiences”, added Jayawardene.
“This is a great opportunity to promote Sri Lankan players and uplift
Sri Lankan cricket while upholding the MCC spirit of cricket” said
former Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara.
Sangakkara also said that although a lot of foreign stars will
feature in the tournament, Sri Lankan cricket will take center stage.”
Hopefully SLPL will be a stepping stone for a feast of talented
cricketers thus create healthy competition among them in order to have a
top notched pool to choose from”.
Sri Lanka Cricket Chairman Upali Dharmadasa said that SLC hopes to
add two more franchises in the following years to the SLPL, making it
nine provinces for nine teams. “For over 30 years we had players coming
from about four provinces out of nine provinces in Sri Lanka, but in the
future SLPL will provide the opportunity for youngsters from all the
provinces to get into the national scheme and for the fans, to support
them” said Dharmadasa.
The official website of the SLPL was also launched to the beats of
the “Papare bands” and the grooves of the glamorous cheer girls along
with the official mascot of the SLPL, the Mighty Lion. The official
theme song of SLPL and the official logo was unveiled at the gala event
as well. |