COLOMBO: With the second edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) set to commence shortly, the Innovative Production Group FZE (IPG) -- the exclusive rights holders of the event -- has decided to terminate the ownership of the franchises of Colombo Kings and Dambulla Viiking for the reason of non-compliance.
As the official rights holders of the event from 2020 till 2024, the IPG group as per their contract with the owners of the league Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), is the only authorized entity to sell team franchise ownership of the league.
Accordingly, the Innovative Production Group FZE (IPG) has received multiple requests from many interested parties and in compliance with the contractual obligation of the IPG and Sri Lanka Cricket, for the said League, as well as in keeping with the requirement of the International Cricket Council (ICC), have submitted all KYC documents for approval to finalize the new set of owners for the said teams.
Earlier in June, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) confirmed that that the second season of LPL will start on July 30 and the final will be played on August 22. The inaugural edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) which was played in a bio-secure bubble at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium in Hambantota from November 26 till December 16, 2020, reached a cumulative audience of 557 million people through TV, digital-social space, and traditional media outlets.
SLC is confident that the success of the inaugural tournament has given it the ideal platform to conduct the upcoming edition with much vigour. "With last year's success, we are expecting a good turnaround of overseas players, enhanced competition between the franchises, increased interest by the sponsors., and most importantly the fan engagement from across the globe to increase further," said Ravin Wickramaratne, Vice President of Sri Lanka Cricket.