by Rex Clementine
One key reason for the Indian cricket team’s resounding success in recent years is the IPL. The opportunity young players get rubbing shoulders with the likes of Jos Buttler, David Warner, Kane Williamson, Pat Cummins is immeasurable. Young Indian players mature quicker than players from rest of the world. England, Australia, West Indies and Pakistan have successfully launched their own T-20 league. Apart from exposure for the players, preparing them to compete better in the global stage, the franchise tournaments have also made cricket boards richer by many folds.
Sri Lanka Cricket had tried several times to launch their own T-20 league with little success. When they introduced Lanka Premier League in 2020, there were many who doubted the success of the competition as this was during the height of the pandemic. Not only was that event a success, but it has gone on to become a marquee event in the SLC calendar.
If only organizers can persevere with franchise owners and have a dedicated slot for the competition, the event will grow in stature even more.
There were some exciting talents this year as well with the likes of Alex Hales, Tim Seifert, Rilee Rossouw, Shadab Khan and Dwaine Pretorius just to name a few leaving the competition having left an indelible mark.
South African Rossouw made a bigger impact than anyone else as he notched up two hundred in the competition to finish with 389 runs. He made the final a totally one-sided game. Set a target of 185 to win, the burly left-hander made a mockery of the final as he toyed with the bowling and helped Jaffna Kings reach the target inside 16 overs. Galle Marvels bowlers had little options against him.
Rossouw’s unbeaten 106 took only 53 balls as he hit nine fours and seven sixes. He had walked in to face the second ball of the innings after Pathum Nissanka had been dismissed for a first ball duck. A lot of number three batters become nervous when faced with such a scenario but not this man with a liking to clear the boundary. He was named Man of the Match and Player of the Series.
Kusal Mendis fresh from a hundred in the previous game that put Jaffna in the final over Kandy Falcons in a thrilling encounter was rather happy to play second fiddle. He finished on 72 that came off 40 balls with eight fours and two sixes.
Their 185-run stand is an all-time record in LPL for any wicket in any edition. Big match temperament is something that many leading sportsmen find wanting cracking under pressure and expectations but there were no such problems for Mendis and Rossouw.
It was a one-sided final yes but there was plenty of entertainment.
Galle would have been happy with their eventual total of 184. They were struggling at 24 for three in the seventh over but ended up with a competitive total thanks to Bhanuka Rajapaksa who made 82 off 34 balls with eight fours and six sixes. But it proved to be insufficient.
LPL has helped Sri Lanka to find young talents. Pathum Nissanka, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth and Janith Liyanage became household names thanks to LPL. This time Chamindu Wickramasinghe made such a huge impact in the tournament and rightly was recalled to the senior side.
LPL was not only a platform for young players to make in impact. Even seasoned campaigners like Avishka Fernando and Kusal Perere who were overlooked for the recent World Cup in the USA and West Indies forced their way back into the side after good performances in the LPL. Both players will feature in the upcoming series against India.
This year’s games were spread across three venues – Dambulla, Kandy and Colombo. There are moves to hold some games in Galle next season so that the locals could attend and support their teams. There are also hopes of adding a sixth team for the competition and you can be assured that LPL will be better and bigger in 2025.
