Cricket and corruption

Controversy and scandal have always accompanied Sri Lanka’s premier franchise-based, T20 league tournament, Lanka Premier League, which is popularly known as the LPL. This year’s edition got off to the worst possible start with the co-owner of the franchise Jaffna Kings Manjot Kalra having been arrested by the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) for the Prevention of Offences Related to Sports over allegations of match-fixing. Subsequently, Jaffna Kings franchise agreement in the Lanka Premier League (LPL) was terminated, and the LPL Event Rights Partner, Innovative Production Group FZ LLC (IPG), assumed responsibility for all obligations of the Jaffna Kings franchise.

The annual league has been consistently undermined by allegations of match fixing and corruption. Two years ago, the owner of the then franchise Dambulla Thunders, Bangladesh-born British citizen Tamim Rahman, was arrested at Katunayake Airport over match-fixing allegations. Last January, Rahman pleaded guilty to charges of match-fixing and was handed a five-year suspended sentence of four years rigorous imprisonment, as well as a fine of Rs. 24 million. A corruption case is currently underway against former Sri Lankan cricketer Sachithra Senanayake over his alleged role in attempting to fix matches during the 2020 LPL season, which was the inaugural edition of the tournament.

Most of the franchise teams in the tournament are owned by nationalities of Indian, Bangladesh, and Pakistan – countries that have often been associated with match fixing. In the backdrop of several owners of franchise teams getting caught trying to bribe players in the past, question marks arise about the process of vetting the prospective owners of the franchises with respect to their conduct and background. The presence of individuals associated with match fixing in the tournament has in fact destabilised the careers of promising cricketers in the country. For instance, the International Cricket Council banned Sri Lankan national player Praveen Jayawickrama from all forms of cricket for one year when he failed to report an approach to fix some matches during the 2021 edition of the game.

Persistent instability and volatility in terms of the organisational structure of the tournament have prevented LPL from becoming a prominent franchise like the IPL or Big Bash League in Australia. According to the Cricinfo website, as of the LPL 2026 season, none of the franchises are run by their original owners, with each team undergoing at least three changes of ownership since the inaugural edition in 2020. Every year the names of the teams change, and players get rotated among franchises from one edition to another, leaving no opportunity to develop a loyal fanbase among the franchises unlike in the IPL – the most successful franchise league cricket tournament in the world.

The tournament has also failed to attract the interest of top corporates in the country. Not a single reputed corporate in Sri Lanka is featured as a franchise owner, which stands as a serious indictment on the competition. However, a few controversial firms that run various forestry and plantation investment schemes have come on board as sponsors and franchise owners in a bid to gain acceptance and credibility.

It is quite a shame to see that matches of this edition are played in front of very limited spectators, reflecting the lack of interest and enthusiasm of locals about the tournament. It is questionable whether the tournament has been appropriately marketed through the correct channels to gain the attention of cricket lovers. 

It is hoped that the new Cricket Transformation Committee would give a serious consideration to improve the standard of this mediocre tournament by addressing the existing shortcomings related to team ownership and lack of mass appeal.