Colombo Kaps in 2026
| 2026 season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Coach | Chamara Kapugedera | ||
| Captain | Kusal Mendis | ||
| |||
The Colombo Kaps (CS) is the franchise cricket team based in Colombo, Western Province, Sri Lanka. They will be one of the five teams to compete in the 2026 Lanka Premier League. The team will captain by Kusal Mendis and will coach by Chamara Kapugedera.
Background
After Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) terminated the Colombo franchise in 2025 for failing to fulfill its contractual obligations, the franchise was bought by Witness Sports Alliance LLC, led by Saranyan Palaniswamy and K.C. Shyam Kangayan.[1][2] Under new ownership, the franchise named as "Colombo Kaps".[3][4]
Squad
In early May 2026, Kaps announced that Kamindu Mendis and Kusal Mendis would be their two local pre-signings. On 24 May, they announced that Ben McDermott would be one of their overseas pre-signings and would be the Overseas Star player. On 26 May, they announced that New Zealand all-rounder Jimmy Neesham would be their Overseas Icon player.[5][6]
| No. | Name | Nat. | Date of birth | Batting style | Bowling style | Year signed | Salary (US$) |
Category | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batters | |||||||||
| 2 | Thanuka Dabare | 20 August 1998 (aged 27) | Left handed | Right-arm off break | 2026 | 20,000 | Local Classic | ||
| Wicket-keepers | |||||||||
| 29 | Mohammad Haris | 30 March 2001 (aged 25) | Right handed | Right-arm off break | 2026 | 20,000 | Overseas Classic | ||
| 47 | Ben McDermott | 12 December 1994 (aged 31) | Right handed | Right-arm medium fast | 2026 | 60,000 | Overseas Star | ||
| 13 | Kusal Mendis | 2 February 1995 (aged 31) | Right handed | Right-arm leg break | 2026 | 80,000 | Local Icon | Captain | |
| 23 | Sadeera Samarawickrama | 30 August 1995 (aged 30) | Right handed | N/a | 2026 | 30,000 | Local Gold | ||
| Sharujan Shanmuganathan | 25 April 2006 (aged 20) | Right handed | Right-arm leg break | 2026 | 10,000 | Emerging U23 | |||
| All-rounders | |||||||||
| 14 | Kushal Bhurtel | 22 January 1997 (aged 29) | Right handed | Right-arm leg break | 2026 | 15,000 | Associate Star | ||
| 95 | Janith Liyanage | 12 July 1995 (aged 31) | Right handed | Right-arm medium fast | 2026 | 30,000 | Local Gold | ||
| 21 | Kamindu Mendis | 30 September 1998 (aged 27) | Left handed | Ambidextrous spin | 2026 | 60,000 | Local Star | ||
| 50 | James Neesham | 17 September 1990 (aged 35) | Left handed | Right-arm medium fast | 2026 | 80,000 | Overseas Icon | ||
| 37 | Milan Rathnayake | 1 August 1996 (aged 29) | Left handed | Right-arm medium fast | 2026 | 30,000 | Local Gold | ||
| 51 | Movin Subasingha | 6 July 2000 (aged 26) | Right handed | Right-arm off break | 2026 | 20,000 | Local Classic | ||
| 49 | Malsha Tharupathi | 7 November 2004 (aged 21) | Right handed | Right-arm leg break | 2026 | 10,000 | Emerging U23 | ||
| Pace bowlers | |||||||||
| 28 | Shahnawaz Dahani | 5 August 1998 (aged 27) | Right handed | Right-arm medium fast | 2026 | 30,000 | Overseas Gold | ||
| 71 | Binura Fernando | 12 July 1995 (aged 31) | Right handed | Left-arm medium fast | 2026 | 50,000 | Local Platinum | ||
| 91 | Hasan Mahmud | 12 October 1999 (aged 26) | Right handed | Right-arm medium fast | 2026 | 20,000 | Overseas Classic | ||
| N/A | Arul Pragasam | 6 November 1993 (aged 32) | Right handed | Right-arm medium fast | 2026 | 20,000 | Local Classic | ||
| Spin bowlers | |||||||||
| N/A | Wanuja Sahan | 17 June 2003 (aged 23) | Left handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | 2026 | 30,000 | Local Gold | ||
| 88 | Mujeeb Ur Rahman | 28 March 2001 (aged 25) | Right handed | Right-arm off break | 2026 | 50,000 | Overseas Platinum | ||
| 46 | Jeffrey Vandersay | 5 February 1990 (aged 36) | Right handed | Right-arm leg break | 2026 | 20,000 | Local Classic | ||
| Source(s) | ThePapare, Inside Sport & Sri Lanka Cricket[7][8][9] | |||||||||
Administration and support staff
| Position | Name | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Head coach | Chamara Kapugedera | [10] |
| Bowling coach | Nuwan Kulasekara | [11] |
Fixtures
See also
References
- ^ "Witness Sports Alliance acquires Colombo Kaps". The Morning. 24 May 2026. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
- ^ "Lanka Premier League receives Indian investment with acquisition of Colombo Kaps franchise". ANI. 15 October 2025. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
- ^ "New ownership group takes over Colombo Kaps in LPL". Cricbuzz. 19 May 2026. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
- ^ "Colombo Kaps Get New Owners Ahead of LPL 2026 Season". Durham Cricket. 19 May 2026. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
- ^ "Vijay Shankar, Jimmy Neesham and Ben McDermott add firepower to LPL 2026". Pakistan Today. 26 May 2026. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
- ^ "LPL 2026: Sahibzada Farhan, Shakib Al Hasan among big pre-signings". Geo Super. 26 May 2026. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
- ^ Kanishka Sanjeewa (1 June 2026). "Full LPL 2026 Squads Following the Player Draft". ThePapare. Retrieved 3 June 2026.
- ^ Naman Jain (2 June 2026). "All LPL 2026 squads after Lanka Premier League draft". Inside Sport. Retrieved 3 June 2026.
- ^ "LPL 2026: Final Squads". Sri Lanka Cricket. 2 June 2026. Retrieved 3 June 2026.
- ^ "Sri Lanka's coaching talent will once again take center stage at LPL 2026". Sri Lanka Sports. 30 May 2026. Retrieved 2 June 2026.
- ^ "The wait is officially OVER! The legendary Nuwan Kulasekara is on duty as our Bowling Coach for LPL 2026". Colombo Kaps. 25 May 2026. Retrieved 2 June 2026 – via Facebook.