Picture Credit: Sri Lanka Cricket/LPL
The third edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) will take place in December 2022 after it was postponed last month. The organizers confirmed on Tuesday that the T20 league will start on December 6. Notably, LPL 3 was scheduled to take place in August but was postponed due to the worsening economic situation in the country.
Samantha Dodanwela, the tournament organizer on Tuesday confirmed to the media that the third edition of the T20 league will be held from 6 December to 23 December. "It's my pleasure to announce that the LPL will be held from 6th to 23rd December," said Samantha. The news was also confirmed by IPG, the LPL's official promoter, on Twitter.
Dodanwela was speaking at a briefing organized with a view to elaborating on the ongoing SLC Invitational T20 tournament. The four-team tournament was organized following the initial postponement of the LPL, to aid Sri Lanka's selectors in finalizing the squad for the T20 World Cup in Australia starting October 2022.
No decision on player draft yet!
While the dates have been confirmed for the third edition of the T20 league, a decision on the player re-draft is yet to be taken. It’s reported that the tournament organizers are deciding between two options: either holding a fresh draft or going ahead with as many of the available players as possible with only the slots taken up by any unavailable foreign players being re-drafted.
A cloud of uncertainty is hovering over players’ availability because the tournament will likely be sandwiched between a home Test series against West Indies in November and an away ODI series against India in December-January. Also, the Sri Lankan cricketers have been busy and have a packed cricketing schedule until July next year, leading up to the ODI World Cup in India in October 2023.