A total of seven Bangladesh cricketers including Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal have registered to compete in the Lankan Premier League (LPL), Sri Lanka's premier T20 franchise competition.
The LPL is slated to begin from July 30 this year and run for three weeks. Despite the concerns over the Covid-19 pandemic, several top T20 cricketers from around the world are set to take part.
James Faulkner, Ben Cutting, Temba Bavuma, Brendan Taylor and Nicholas Pooran have also made themselves available for the draft, as are former Indian all-rounders Irfan Pathan and Yusuf Pathan. Pakistan, too, are well represented, with Haris Sohail, Mohammad Irfan, Shan Masood and Mohammad Hasnain having registered.
Apart from Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal, Mehdy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar are the rest of the five Bangladesh cricketers who planned to be a part of the tournament.
"Last year's success has certainly made a difference with more players from many cricket playing countries looking forward to playing in the LPL, which is a very good sign for the League and Sri Lanka cricket,” Sri Lanka Cricket vice-president Ravin Wickremaratne told the cricket website Cricinfo.
The inaugural edition of the LPL was won by the Jaffna Stallions last year, one of five teams that took part in the tournament. According to SLC, 135 million viewers across television and digital platforms tuned in to watch the final between the Stallions and the Galle Gladiators, with fan engagement throughout the tournament generally quite high.
Source: BSS