The franchises of the Lanka Premier League confirmed the make-up of their squads in the Lanka Premier League 2021 ‘Player Draft’ on Tuesday. Each of the five franchises which include Colombo Stars, Dambulla Giants, Galle Gladiators, Jaffna Kings and Kandy Warriors have packed their teams with a host of explosive and international cricket stars.
The Galle Gladiators have acquired Mohammad Hafeez, Isuru Udana, Tabraiz Shamsi, Kusal Mendis, Mohammad Amir, Samit Patel, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Danushka Gunathilaka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dhananjaya Lakshan, Anwar Ali, DH Ashan Pulina Tharanga, Nuwan Thushara, Lahiru Madushanka, Dilshan Madushanka, Ashian Daniel, Kevin Koththigoda, Mohammed Shamaaz, Suminda Lakshan and Angelo Jayasinghe.
The Colombo Stars will receive the services of Chris Gayle, Dushmantha Cheemara, Ahmed Shehzad, Dilshan Munaweera, Mohammad Irfan, Al Amin Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Pathum Nissanka Silva, Lakshan Sandakan, Seekkuge Prasanna, Manpreet Singh, Gihan Rupasinghe, Lahiru Gamage, TM Sampath, Nuwanidu Fernando, Jehan Kieth Zeon Daniel, Malindu Maduranga, Nalin Priyadarshana, Hashan Dumindu Ranasinghe and Kanagarathinam Kabilraj.
Meanwhile, the Dambulla Giants have picked Imran Tahir, Dasun Shanaka, Rilee Rossouw, Chamika Karunaratne, Sohaib Maqsood, Odean Smith, Josh Little, Niroshan Dickwella, Nuwan Pradeep, Ramesh Mendis, Najibullah Zadran, Tharindu Ratnayake, Lahiru Udara Igalagamage, Sacha DeAlwis Seneveratne, Muditha Lakshan, Kalana Perera, Sachitha Jayathilake, Madushan Ravichandrakumar, Janith Liyanage and Chamikara Edirisinghe.
While the Jaffna Kings have picked up Faf du Plessis, Thisara Perera, Wahab Riaz, Wanindu Hasaranga, Shoaib Malik, Usman Shinwari, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Avishka Fernando, Upul Tharanga, Chaturanga de Silva, Jayden Seales, Suranga Lakmal, Ashen Bandara, Maheesh Theekshana, Chamika Gunasekara, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Theivendiram Dinoshan, Ashan Randika, Rathnaraj Thenuradan and Wijesuriya Arachchige Krishan Sanjula.
The Kandy Warriors have acquired the services of Rovman Powell, Charith Asalanka, Cameron Delport, Lahiru Kumara, Mohammad Mithun, Nazmul Islam Apu, Mehedi Hasan Rana, Angelo Perera, Asela Gunaratne, Milinda Siriwardana, Amjad Khan, Ishan Jayaratne, Binura Udara Fernando, Kamindu Mendis, Kamil Mishara, Ayana Siriwardene, Nimesh Vimukthi, Udara Jayasundara, Shashika Dulshan and Kalhara Senarathna.
Jawad Ghulam Rasool, Managing Partner & COO, IPG Group, said “We are proud to see the long list of international cricket stars participating in this season of Lanka Premier League 2021. Selections made by the teams look well balanced and the competition will be fierce. The performance displayed by the Pakistani players during the ICC World Cup has been phenomenal and we are excited to see them showcase the continued power play during the LPL 2021.”
A total of 600 players, consisting of 300 overseas and 300 Sri Lankan players featured in the ‘Player Draft,’ which was organized virtually with the participation of five franchise owners and the SLC officials. The draft consisted of 20 rounds, covering several player categories, such as ‘Local and Overseas Icon Player’, ‘Local and Overseas Diamond Player’, ‘Local and Overseas Gold Player’, and ‘Local and Overseas Classic Player’. And there was also the ‘Local Emerging’ and ‘Supplementary Local’ rounds focusing on selecting Sri Lanka’s young talent.
The Lanka Premier League 2021 is set to be held from 05th December 2021 to 23rd December 2021.
