LPL team owners advised to pick U-19 players

By BIPIN DANI

All five teams in the Lanka Premier League (LPL) will have at least one or two Under-19 players, and the management of these teams will have to ensure that they play ‘almost’ every match. This was revealed by Charith Senanayake, the newly elected chairman of the LPL technical committee. 

Speaking exclusively over the telephone from Colombo, the former left-handed opener said, “It is one of my suggestions and the management have agreed in principle to implement. With the U-19 World Cup in sight, I have included this in my suggestion-list.” 

Senanayake’s other suggestions are to increase the number of players a franchise can retain from two to six, with a certain criteria and categories, and to not restrict the number of players in the draft and give maximum opportunity to domestic players. 

“Hopefully, these will be accommodated along with the rules and conditions already in place. Will do what’s best as the league gets underway shortly,” Senanayake, who also served as the Sri Lankan team manager in the past, added. 

When asked about the appointment and his role as technical committee chairman, Senanayake was first thankful to Sri Lanka Cricket for the opportunity, but mentioned that the format of the tournament and the rules were already formulated and in place by the time of his appointment. The other members of the committee are Shane Fernando, Vinothan John and Tyron Hirantha Wijewardena.