Amid a global pandemic, the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) somehow successfully managed to organize the inaugural edition of the much talked about Lanka Premier League (LPL). The participation of some top overseas T20 players (Andre Russell, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik) and emergence of young, unknown Sri Lanka players (Dhananjaya Lakshan, Nuwan Thusara) certainly laid the foundation for bigger LPL editions in the upcoming years.
While the first edition of the LPL received mostly positive feedback from the cricket fraternity, a sensational allegation of tournament’s director and SLC vice president Ravin Wickramaratne’s has also become the talking point within Sri Lanka cricket!
Wickramarathne, who is widely credited for LPL’s reasonable success, in a TV interview recently, made a sensational claim that one of the top former SLC administrator tried to sabotage the LPL!
As Wickramarathne didn’t reveal the name, it left Sri Lanka cricket fraternity in guessing – is it Thilanga Sumathipala, with whom current SLC administration has fallen out? Or is it someone from the opposite camp, one that contested the last SLC election against president Shammi Silva and Co? Or is it merely a gimmick, a baseless allegation?
When Cricket Age inquired about this ‘hot topic’ of Sri Lanka cricket, it revealed some shocking facts!
It learnt that a former SLC administrator, who has worked with current SLC administration, was indeed trying to sabotage the LPL, with the help of one of his friend from the India!
Cricket Age investigation revealed that the said former SLC administration collected the contact details of the LPL team owners from his Indian friend and then tried to influence them for not involving with the LPL and SLC!
In the end, however, his attempts failed miserably, as the SLC, with the political backing of Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa, completed the LPL without any big financial controversy, which itself is a big achievement, knowing the nature of the Sri Lanka cricket!
