COLOMBO: Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is taking another shot at having its own franchise based Twenty20 league, with the board stating that plans are underway to resurrect the Sri Lankan Premier League later this year.
"We believe we have the best package, we've got the best formula, we've got the best position to present the next Lankan premier league," SLC president Thilanga Sumathipala said at a media briefing called to announce SLC's commercial partners for the upcoming Nidahas Trophy tri-series, also featuring India and Bangladesh.
"The Nidahas Trophy is going to give us that platform, the The Nidahas Trophy is going to give us the place where we have never ever seen our country's cricket being positioned in the global market."
The Nidahas Trophy, which is being held to commemorate Sri Lanka's 70th year of independence, will run from March 6 to 18.
SLC first launched the SLPL in 2012, in which Hong Kong-based Somerset Entertainment Ventures (SEV) was the commercial partner. But it was poorly supported and failed to convince franchise owners that they would eventually break even in subsequent years. At least one franchise owner had also seemingly corrupt intentions, having told an SLPL captain that franchises could only make money from the tournament if spot fixing occurred, ESPNcricinfo reports. The player immediately relayed this to the ICC's anti-corruption unit.
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