Sri Lanka Cricket is making a determined effort to revive the Lanka Premier League after the tournament’s most recent edition was abandoned last year due to the unavailability of venues. With renewed plans and an expanded international focus, officials are confident that the 2026 edition will mark a strong comeback for the country’s premier franchise competition.
The online registration portal for foreign players officially opened on May 8 and will remain active until May 20 through the official Sri Lanka Cricket website. Early indications suggest healthy interest from overseas players, with cricketers from Australia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, New Zealand and the West Indies already expressing their willingness to participate.
The LPL has continued to attract global attention despite the setbacks faced in organising the tournament in recent years. More than 600 overseas players registered for the previous edition, highlighting the growing appeal of the league among international cricketers.
This year, Sri Lanka Cricket and event rights holder IPG Group are also aiming to widen the tournament’s reach by bringing in players from emerging and associate nations. Countries such as Ireland, Scotland, Zimbabwe, Nepal, USA, Oman, Italy, Namibia and the Netherlands are among those being targeted alongside established cricketing markets.
LPL Tournament Director Samantha Dodanwela said the response received so far has been extremely encouraging and reflects the increasing status of the competition in world cricket.
“We are absolutely delighted with the interest and enquiries from top cricketers across all cricket-playing nations who want to play in Season 6 of the LPL. The overwhelming response from players clearly underlines the growing status of LPL,” he said.
To further strengthen the competition, each franchise will be allowed to sign two international marquee players and two Sri Lankan marquee players. The list of pre-signed players for the upcoming season is expected to be announced next week.
The sixth edition of the tournament is scheduled to run from July 10 to August 5 across venues in Colombo, Pallekele and Dambulla. Since the competition began in 2020, Jaffna Kings have established themselves as the league’s most successful team, winning four titles.
