Harin invites LPL rights holder to consider other sports in Sri Lanka

 Sports Minister Harin Fernando at the launch of the newly announced franchisee of LPL 5th edition for Galle named Galle Marvels

• New franchisee Galle Marvels debuts

Sports Minister Harin Fernando invited IPG Group, the official rights holder of Lanka Premier League (LPL) to consider supporting other sports in Sri Lanka alongside LPL, stating that Sri Lanka is a country that loves sports.

“IPG can also do some franchise tournaments in other sports. Why not look at rugby and football? I would like to say to all our investors and owners of teams, look beyond cricket also. Sri Lanka has a lot of following in other sports as well. There will be lots of value for money,” said the Sports Minister at the launch of the newly announced franchisee of LPL 5th edition for the region of Galle named Galle Marvels, held at Shangri La Hotel on Monday. Minister Fernando extended his gratitude to IPG Group founder and CEO Anil Mohan for having spearheaded the LPL tournament and making it a long-running cricket tournament in Sri Lanka. 

“The tournament was launched amidst so many issues, such as COVID, other issues, and even politics. But Anil Mohan has managed to survive and I hope he continues to survive,” the Minister said. 

On a cautionary note Minister Fernando said that he was only concerned with clean cricket, good cricket, and Sri Lanka reaching the highest level in franchise cricket.

“We are a beautiful country with some beautiful grounds, and we also have fans who all breathe cricket. It is also easy to make it a lovable place for even franchise cricketers to come and play in Sri Lanka,” he said. 

Minister Fernando, who is also the Tourism Minister of Sri Lanka, said it gave him immense pleasure to see tournaments of such magnitude being played in Sri Lanka and pledged maximum support from the ministries and Government of Sri Lanka for a successful LPL tournament this year.

The launch event saw the revealing of the logo and official jersey along with the theme song for Galle Marvels of the Lanka Premier League. 

The event also included the revealing of the second franchisee owners in the upcoming inaugural Lanka T10 league which is scheduled to be held in December 2024. The team of the franchisee is for the Moratuwa Region named Moratu Marvels.