SLC introduces National Super League Will become the elite domestic cricketing competition

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) yesterday announced a long-called-for addition to its domestic cricket competition structure, with the introduction of a National Super League slated to begin next week. 

The league, which will be considered the elite domestic cricketing competition, is essentially an improved version of the inter-provincial tournaments of the past and clusters the 26 major clubs into five teams, each with a minimum of five clubs. 

The league will feature a 50-over and a four-day tournament, with the former beginning on January 24. 

Former cricketers and administrators have repeatedly called for a competitive domestic tournament with only the top national talent, to improve the quality of cricketers coming through the club system. 

Successive administrations have failed to implement this league, with only ad hoc inter-provincial tournaments being organised. 

The five teams in the National Super League, like the Lanka Premier League (LPL) T20 tournament, will use the names of the cities of Colombo, Kandy, Dambulla, Galle and Jaffna. 
The five teams will be captained by Angelo Mathews (Galle), Dasun Shanaka (Colombo), Kamindu Mendis (Kandy), Ashan Priyanjan (Dambulla), Dhananjaya de Silva (Jaffna). 
“The NSL will help enhance the club competition, as players taking part in the Major Clubs Tournament will try to compete at the highest level in order to get into their respective NSL team, as players for the NSL team will be picked based on the performances in the Club Tournament,” SLC said in a statement. 

“Each NSL team will have a Head Coach and an Assistant Head Coach along with ateam of support staff.The player selection for the NSL teams will be done by the respective cluster coach along with a National Selector,” it also read.