SLC’s Major Club season to start with T20 tourney as relegation battle begins

Monday, 4 May 2026 05:07 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Several national and key players to switch clubs

By Marlon Fernandopulle

Amidst the winds of change blowing across Maitland Place, Sri Lanka Cricket’s (SLC) Major Club Tournament for the 2026/27 season is set to commence amongst the 14 premier cricket clubs with the T20 tournament, which, for the very first time, has been included as part of the relegation system.

Last month, SLC stakeholders at a special General Meeting voted unanimously for a change in the promotion/relegation system where all three formats—the T20, Limited Over, and Three-Day tournaments—will be assigned a weightage of 24%, 25%, and 51%, respectively, to determine the team that is eventually relegated to the Tier B segment. Previously, only the Three-Day Tournament was considered for relegation purposes.

As a result of the new format, Major Clubs will have to be at their best in all three formats to avoid relegation. 14 clubs will compete in the Major T20 tournament which commences next week, with defending champions Colombo Cricket Club (CCC) and runners-up Panadura SC.

The 14 teams are divided into two groups, where each team will have six games. Group A comprises CCC, Moors SC, BRC, Tamil Union, Nugegoda SC, Kurunegala SC, and Badureliya SC, while Group B comprises Panadura SC, NCC, SSC, Police SC, Colts SC, Bloomfield, and Ace Capital SC. The top four teams from each group will then qualify for the quarter-finals.

The semi-finals and finals will be played under floodlights on 29 and 31 May, respectively. SSC, who were relegated two years ago, will be back amongst the Major Clubs after emerging as Tier B Three-Day champions last season.

With the final date for the registration of players being Wednesday, the Daily FT learns that several leading players, including a few national players and top performers during the last season, have opted to change their clubs for the current season. Some of the leading clubs are canvassing heavily for the big names, while certain other clubs are refusing to release leading players as time is running out before the Wednesday deadline.