Sri Lanka Cricket delays 2025 Lanka Premier League

Sri Lanka Cricket delays 2025 Lanka Premier League

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has announced that the 2025 edition of the Lanka Premier League will not be held this year as originally planned. The decision was made to allow more time to prepare for the 2026 T20 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.

The LPL was supposed to run from November 27 to December 23 across Colombo, Kandy, and Dambulla. But SLC has now decided to shift the tournament to a different time so they can fully focus on getting the venues ready for the World Cup.

According to ICC rules, all stadiums hosting World Cup matches must be in top condition. SLC said they need extra time to upgrade the stadiums and surrounding facilities. For example, Colombo’s R Premadasa Stadium had paused its renovation work to host 11 matches in the ongoing Women’s World Cup, but will now resume upgrades once those games are done.

In the past two years, the LPL was held in July and August. But with the 2026 T20 World Cup starting in February, SLC had initially chosen a later window for the league. That plan has now been dropped to prioritise World Cup preparations.

Meanwhile, there are talks of adding a sixth team to the LPL. So far, five teams—Colombo, Galle, Kandy, Dambulla, and Jaffna—have competed in the league. However, earlier this year, SLC ended contracts with Jaffna Kings and Colombo Strikers due to contract issues. That means the league currently has no team owners from before 2024. New owners for the Jaffna and Colombo teams are yet to be confirmed