Within mere a decade of the advent of million dollar IPL, world Cricket has now truly blessed with plethora of such leagues around the globe : CPL, PSL, BIG BASH LEAGUE, NATWEST BLAST, BPL and the list goes on!
Apart from made cricketers financially more secure, the most remarkable thing these t20 leagues have done is that some of the best cricketers of the world, plays for the one particular team. Now, a 17 year old kid from Tamil Nadu plays along with World’s best batsmen Steve Smith! Now, a bowler named Rashid Khan from a country like Afghanistan plays with David Warner!
These kind of opportunities gives younger and fringe players to play with legends, their idols and gives chance to hon their skills.
Sadly, in the era of t30 cricket, only Sri Lanka, the most gifted country with natural unorthodox cricketers, does not have such t20 league.
Though, SLC tried to start their own such leagues, by launching SLPL in 2012, but failed miserably. Problems were the same with SLPL as well, as it has become a norm with Sri Lanka cricket board : money problem, organising difficulties and the lack of sponsorship.
Though they some how organized it in 2012, but failed to continue next year’s, and eventually scrapped it.
The inability of SLC to have their own t20 league caused Sri Lanka domestic, young and fringe players being stranded from the rest of the cricketing world.
Already, with the emergence of Thilanga Sumathipala, the competitive domestic cricket structure had been thrown into dust, as to be remained in the power via clubs voting has always been his first priority.
With a lacklustre domestic structure, unavailability of a t20 league has become a curse for Sri Lanka cricketers, as they hardly gets proper chances to express themselves, to play with best players of the world cricket, to share the dressing room with their idols!
” with rich cricketing history and great young talents in domestic arena, Sri Lanka cricket could have established their own t20 league successfully. But, the profit centric SLC ruined this opportunity as well” one former administrator of SLC told Cricket Age.
But, at the end, this is nothing new from the SLC. After all, over the years, Administrators like Thilanga Sumathipala has done nothing to improve the standard of Sri Lanka cricket!
