2026 Lanka Premier League
| Dates | 8 July – 8 August 2026 |
|---|---|
| Administrator | Sri Lanka Cricket |
| Cricket format | Twenty20 |
| Tournament format(s) | Double round-robin and playoffs |
| Participants | 5 |
| Matches | 24 |
| Official website | Lanka Premier League |
The 2026 Lanka Premier League will be the sixth edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL), a Twenty20 franchise cricket tournament in Sri Lanka. The league will be organised by Sri Lanka Cricket.[1][2] The tournament was initially scheduled to begin on 27 November 2025, with the final set to take place on 23 December 2025 but later postponed in view of "the broader requirement of preparing well in advance" for the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup.[3][4][5]
The tournament scheduled to start from 8th of July and the final will be held on 8th of August 2026.[6]
Background
As part of Sri Lanka's preparations for the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup, the Sri Lanka Cricket announced on 1 August 2025 that the sixth edition of the Lanka Premier League would begin on 23 November 2025.[7]
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) terminated both Jaffna Kings and Colombo Strikers franchises for failing to upload contractual obligations.[8]
On October 6, the organizers of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) announced that the start of the tournament would be postponed to December 1.[9]
On the same day, the organizers of LPL announced that the Indian national cricket team players would participate in the 6th edition of the Lankan Premier League.[10][11] Until then, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had not allowed any Indian player from the Indian national side or the Indian Premier League (IPL) to participate in any other cricket league in the world. This was the first time that players from the Indian national side would participate in a foreign franchise cricket league, breaking the long-standing tradition of being limited to Indian Premier League.
The Colombo franchise was purchased by Witness Sports Alliance LLC, led by Indian entrepreneurs Saranyan Palaniswamy and K.C. Shyam Kangayan, and was renamed as Colombo Kaps.[12]
On 22 October 2025, Sri Lanka Cricket announced that the event would be postponed to a later date due to preparation requirements for the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka from February to March 2026.[5][13]
On October 24, organizers of Lanka Premier League announced that West Indies cricket icon Chris Gayle has been appointed as the brand ambassador for the sixth edition of the Lanka Premier League.[14]
On December 1, Sri Lanka Cricket announced that sixth editions will begin from 8th of July to 8th of August 2026.
Venues
| City | Colombo | Dambulla | Kandy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ground | R. Premadasa Stadium | Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium | Pallekele International Cricket Stadium |
| Capacity | 35,000 | 16,800 | 35,000 |
| Matches | TBA | ||
Squads
The players' draft will be held on 22 March 2026.[15][16]
Standings
Points table
The top four teams qualified for the play-offs
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | Pts | NRR | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colombo Kaps | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | Advanced to Qualifier 1 |
| 2 | Dambulla Sixers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 3 | Galle Marvels | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | Advanced to Eliminator |
| 4 | Kandy Falcons | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 5 | Jaffna | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
League Stage
Play-offs
| Qualifier 1 | Qualifier 2 | Final | |||||||||||
| TBD | 23 Dec 2025 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | Q1W | ||||||||||||
| 2 | TBD | Q2W | |||||||||||
| Q1L | |||||||||||||
| Eliminator | EW | ||||||||||||
| TBD | |||||||||||||
| 3 | |||||||||||||
| 4 | |||||||||||||
References
- ^ "Lanka Premier League 2025 to Be Held from November 27 to December 23 Across Three Venues". Sports News Portal. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
- ^ "Lanka Premier League 2025 rescheduled to November ahead of T20 World Cup". Sportstar. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
- ^ "LPL 2025 set for November-December return, SLC set to add sixth franchise". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
- ^ "LPL 2025 to begin from November 27". Cricbuzz. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
- ^ a b "SLC postpones 2025 edition of LPL". ESPNcricinfo. 22 October 2025. Archived from the original on 23 October 2025. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
- ^ "Sri Lanka Cricket wishes to announce that the sixth edition of the Lanka Premier League will be held from 8th July to 8th August 2026". Sri Lanka Cricket. Retrieved 1 December 2025.
- ^ "The Lanka Premier League 2025 will be played in November–December". Sri Lanka Cricket. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
- ^ "SLC terminates Jaffna Kings and Colombo Strikers ahead of LPL 2025". ESPNCricinfo. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
- ^ "Lanka Premier League 2025 returns for December showdown, to serve as build-up ahead of mega cricket season". Asian News International. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
- ^ "2025 Lanka Premier League to feature Indian players". Ada Derana. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
- ^ "Lanka Premier League 2025 To Feature Indian Players". NDTV Sports. Retrieved 6 October 2025.
- ^ "Lanka Premier League receives Indian investment with acquisition of Colombo Kaps franchise". The Tribune. Retrieved 15 October 2025.
- ^ "SLC postpones LPL 2025 for infrastructure upgradation ahead of T20 World Cup". ThePrint. 22 October 2025. Archived from the original on 23 October 2025. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
- ^ "Chris Gayle named brand Ambassador for LPL 2026". The Morning. Retrieved 26 October 2025.
- ^ "LPL 2026 to feature player draft instead of auction". ThePapare. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
- ^ "LPL Player Draft : New announcement from SLC". Newswire. Retrieved 15 January 2026.