Young guns to miss Sri Lanka Premier League

       If one of the aims of the proposed Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) inter-provincial Twenty20 cricket tournament is to create a platform for the young Lankan hopefuls to showcase their skills, the tournament this time is not going to serve its purpose.

The SLPL with the participation of a number of top international players such as Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi and West Indies’ hard-hitting batsman Chris Gayle will be played from July 19 to August 4. And missing from it will be the entire Sri Lanka ‘A’ team, who will be touring England.

        The ‘A’ team’s tour of three four-day unofficial Tests and five limited overs clashes will start on July 20, a day after the scheduled start of the SLPL, and will run till August 16; meaning none of the players will be able to play the high profile championship staged at home.

         Acting Chief Executive Officer of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) Ajith Jayasekera said the ‘A’ team’s tour of England is very important for the players and it cannot be missed. But players like Thilina Kandamby, Mahela Udawatta,  Jeewan Mendis, Upul Tharanga, Chamara Kapugedera, Malinga Bandara, Dhammika Prasad, Sajeewa Weerakoon and a couple of promising youngsters who will be selected for the ‘A’ team’s tour will definitely rue the missed opportunity back at home. Add to that the plight of ‘A’ team coach Romesh Kaluwitharana and his support staff who would have otherwise nicely fitted into a provincial team. A young Sri Lankan who gets the opportunity to play in the SLPL may not be able to pocket US$35,000 for the first season, the amount of money offered to Afridi with a promise that the amount will be doubled next year.

       The only blemish is the scheduling of the tournament at a time ‘A’ team players will be out of the country.

An observer said depriving the ‘A’ team players an opportunity in the Sri Lanka Premier League which would bring money into SLC coffers is not the right thing. The SLC depends on these second-string players to run their club tournaments as national players are very often not available, he pointed out. Now it is denying them their deserved opportunity. 

And if the inter-provincial tournament is the country’s premier cricketing event that feeds players to the national teams then all the players with potential should be given a chance to play in it, he said.