Success of LPL an advertisement of SLC’s capabilities

Wanindu Hasaranga (R) throwing the ball to Jaffna Stallions teammate Vijayakanth Viyaskanth (L)

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

For those who cast aspersions at the inaugural My11Circle Lanka Premier League (LPL) it turned out to be a huge success considering the fact that it was conducted at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and under strict health guidelines which the five participating teams followed to the very letter so that there was no untoward incident that would have endangered the tournament midway.

The manner in which Sri Lanka Cricket – headed by its President Shammi Silva and assisted by his Executive Committee that also comprised Vice President and Tournament Director Ravin Wickramaratne – conducted the tournament was a glowing example that with the right people committed to the task anything is possible. 

However all their efforts would not have gone ahead had it not been for the role played by Sports Minister Namal Rajapaksa and the Ministry of Health who gave the green light amidst a second COVID-19 wave for the tournament to go ahead. It was a bold gamble and it paid off handsomely.

By conducting the LPL so successfully Sri Lanka show cased to the world their organising capabilities even in trying circumstances. Even the IPL could not be staged in India because of the pandemic and had to be moved out to the UAE, but Sri Lanka with their strict health guidelines in place has shown that it is possible to hold a tournament of this magnitude at home. 

From the reviews expressed on television from the international commentary panel comprising former national cricketers Aamir Sohail, Darren Ganga and Russel Arnold, renowned commentators Mike Haysman and Roshan Abeysinghe, who were joined by Sri Lanka cricket team head coach Mickey Arthur, the participating players both local and overseas have undoubtedly enjoyed the manner in which the tournament was run. So was the cricket that was dished out. It may not have been to the high class of an IPL with several big stars missing but nevertheless for starters it was exciting and competitive.

What the LPL has done to Sri Lanka cricket is that like the IPL it has unearthed several unknown young talented cricketers, who without the exposure they received would have been simply lost in the wilderness.

Thanks largely to the LPL we saw the raw talents of Dhananjaya Lakshan, picked the Emerging Player of the Tournament, Nuwan Thushara who bowls with a slinging action like Lasith Malinga, teenage leg-spinner from Jaffna Vijayakanath Vijaskanth, and Sahan Arachchige.  

Dasun Shanaka, captain of Dambulla Viiking summed it up nicely, echoing the opinions expressed by the other four franchise captains when he said: “This tournament is vital to our cricket future. We are getting a look at cricketers that we otherwise wouldn’t now. What was happening is that we were judging players from their international performances, but we were putting inexperienced players into international cricket. But once they play a tournament like this, they know what to expect at international level. That’s the most important thing we can get from future editions of this tournament.”

All the cricketers who took part in the LPL were eager for some action having been stagnant without any competitive cricket due to the pandemic. The respective captains went to great lengths to thank the relevant authorities for helping stage the tournament that enabled them to get free of their shackles and start playing cricket once again. One wonders whether they would have sung the same hosannas had they been playing international cricket regularly without a break. 

To produce pitches for 23 matches at one venue was a challenge that Sri Lanka Cricket’s manager of international venues Godfrey Dabare undertook, and all credit to him - there was no complaints from any quarter over its quality, only praise. 

The television broadcast was also of high international quality. Doubts were cast against the marketing and organisation rights owner Anil Mohan, head of the Innovative Production Group (IPG). Prior to the commencement of the tournament Mohan promised the quality of television broadcasting of the LPL would be as good as the IPL, and true to his word it was, except for a few glitches in a couple of matches due to technical issues.

Of the five teams competing Jaffna Stallions proved to be the all-round side, as they had all their bases covered and hardly was there a chink in their armour, and even if there was it was compensated by either the batting, bowling or in the field.

The most improved side was Galle Gladiators, who came from behind to make it to the final after at one time struggling to even qualify for the semis. They ran out of luck in the final and were eventually outplayed by the Stallions.

The Gladiators run of success was largely due to the exceptional batting form displayed by their opener Danushka Gunathilaka, who stood head and shoulders above the rest of the batsmen to accumulate a handsome 476 runs from 10 matches, whereas no one else came close to topping even 300.

Although Gunathilaka was prolific in the league matches he was a failure in the knockouts – the semi-finals and final which are the real pressure games. He was dismissed for 13 in the semi-finals and was unfortunately run out for one in the final getting into a tangle with Suranga Lakmal  mid-pitch.

Likewise in the bowling it was Jaffna’s leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga who topped the list with 17 wickets from 10 games. More than the wickets he took what impressed everyone was his amazing economy rate of 5.18. Nearest to him was another leg-spinner Qais Ahmad of Colombo Kings with an economy rate of 6.50 among the bowlers with wickets.

Of the overseas players who made an impact in the tournament were Andre Russell, Laurie Evans (the only centurion) and Qais Ahmad for Colombo Kings, Mohammad Amir and Azam Khan for Galle Gladiators, Shoaib Malik, Usman Shinwari and Duanne Olivier for Jaffna Stallions, Anwar Ali, and Samit Patel for Dambulla Viiking, and Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Naveen-ul-Haq for Kandy Tuskers.  

The pandemic and the postponement of the LPL from August to November-December had resulted in many top international stars pulling out, as some had to represent their national sides while others had injuries. One hopes the second edition will see a bigger and brighter version to rival other nations.