Dambulla Sixers

Dambulla Sixers
LeagueLanka Premier League
Personnel
CaptainDinesh Chandimal
CoachRangana Herath
OwnerSequoia Consultants, Inc.
Team information
CityDambulla, Central Province, Sri Lanka
Colours  Yellow
Founded2020: Dambulla Viiking
2021: Dambulla Giants
2022: Dambulla Aura
2024: Dambulla Sixers
Home groundRangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Dambulla
Capacity16,800
History
LPL wins0

T20I kit

Dambulla Sixers, previously known as Dambulla Aura, Dambulla Giants, Dambulla Viiking, and Dambulla Thunders is a franchise Twenty20 cricket team based in Dambulla, Sri Lanka, that competes in the Lanka Premier League (LPL).

In June 2021, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) terminated the franchise ahead of the 2021 Lanka Premier League, due to financial issues.[1][2] In September 2021, the team changed their name to Dambulla Giants after changing owners.[3] Then, prior to the 2022 season, Aura Lanka brought the franchise and changed its name to Dambulla Aura.[4]

Franchise history

2020 season

Main article: Dambulla Viiking in 2020

2021 season

Main article: Dambulla Giants in 2021

2022 season

Main article: Dambulla Aura in 2022

2023 season

Main article: Dambulla Aura in 2023

2024 season

Main article: Dambulla Sixers in 2024

In 2024, the team was purchased by Imperial Sports Group, who renamed it Dambulla Thunders.[5] Tamim Rahman, a co-owner of Dambulla Thunders, a British national of Bangladeshi origin, was arrested at the Bandaranaike International Airport a day after the 2024 LPL player auction. The special investigating unit for preventing sports-related offences of the Ministry of Sports made the arrest.[6] Following the arrest, LPL terminated its contract with Dambulla Thunders with immediate effect.[7] The IPG Group, the organisers of LPL announced, the fifth edition of the league will continue as planned despite the events related to Dambulla Thunders. IPG further stated that the Dambulla franchise will participate in the league under new ownership.[8] Incidentally, Viranjith Thambugala, chairman of Aura Lanka, the previous owner of Dambulla franchise, was arrested by Sri Lanka Police over allegations of financial fraud on the same day.[9] At last, Dambulla franchise was bought by a Los Angeles based engineering consultant firm called Sequoia Consultants.[10]

To promote breast cancer awareness and encourage self-examination, Dambulla Sixers played their match against Galle Marvels on July 14 wearing pink jerseys with a pink ribbon. Inspired by successful campaigns in other cricket-playing nations, the initiative aims to significantly impact cancer awareness in Sri Lanka.[11] Galle Marvels also wore a special jersey that mixed pink with their usual neon green to support their program.[12]

2026 season

Main article: Dambulla Sixers in 2026

Before the 2026 LPL player draft, the Sixers signed Dinesh Chandimal, Dushmantha Chameera, Reeza Hendricks and Sahibzada Farhan as pre-draft signings.

Current squad

  • Sources:
  • Players with international caps are listed in bold.
No. Name Nat. Date of birth Batting style Bowling style Year signed Salary
(US$) 		Notes
Batters
Sahibzada Farhan (1996-03-06) 6 March 1996 Right handed N/a 2026 80,000 Overseas
17 Reeza Hendricks (1989-08-14) 14 August 1989 Right handed Right-arm off break 2026 60,000 Overseas
51 Pavan Rathnayake (2002-08-24) 24 August 2002 Right handed Right-arm off break 2026 30,000
Wicket-keepers
56 Dinesh Chandimal (1989-11-18) 18 November 1989 Right handed N/a 2026 80,000 Captain
48 Niroshan Dickwella (1993-06-23) 23 June 1993 Left handed N/a 2026 30,000
All-Rounders
Gayana Weerasinghe (2004-12-16) 16 December 2004 Right handed Right-arm medium fast 2026 10,000
37 Shadley van Schalkwyk (1988-08-05) 5 August 1988 Left handed Right-arm medium 2026 15,000 Overseas
14 Gulbadin Naib (1991-06-04) 4 June 1991 Right-handed Right-arm medium fast 2026 20,000 Overseas
Dian Forrester (2000-06-07) 7 June 2000 Left handed Right-arm fast 2026 20,000 Overseas
17 Dhananjaya Lakshan (1998-10-05) 5 October 1998 Left handed Right-arm medium fast 2026 20,000
25 Ramesh Mendis (1995-07-07) 7 July 1995 Right handed Right-arm off break 2026 20,000
Sachitha Jayathilake (1997-02-24) 24 February 1997 Right handed Right-arm leg break 2026 20,000
Spin bowlers
Vishwa Kumara (2004-11-15) 15 November 2004 Right handed Slow left arm Orthodox 2026 10,000
4 Akila Dhananjaya (1993-10-04) 4 October 1993 Right handed Right-arm off break 2026 30,000
61 Maheesh Theekshana (2000-08-01) 1 August 2000 Right handed Right-arm off break 2026 50,000
Pace bowlers
5 Dushmantha Chameera (1992-01-11) 11 January 1992 Right handed Right-arm fast 2026 60,000
74 Mohammad Wasim (2001-08-25) 25 August 2001 Right handed Right-arm [fast medium]] 2026 30,000 Overseas
5 Fazalhaq Farooqi (2000-09-22) 22 September 2000 Right handed Left-arm Fast 2026 50,000 Overseas

Administration and support staff

Position Name
Head coach Rangana Herath
Mentor Roshan Mahanama
Bowling coach Chamila Gamage
Fielding coach Ruwin Peiris
Batting coach Thilina Kandamby

History

Season Head coach Assistant coach
2020 Owais Shah
2021 Stuart Law Sampath Perera
2022 Mickey Arthur Avishka Gunawardene
2023 Avishka Gunawardene Upul Chandana
2024 Rangana Herath
2026

Captains

No. Player From To Mat Won Lost Tied NR Win%
1 Dasun Shanaka 2020 2022 24 9 13 0 2 37.50
2 Niroshan Dickwella 2021 2021 2 1 1 0 0 50.00
3 Sikandar Raza 2022 2022 1 1 0 0 0 100.00
4 Kusal Mendis 2023 2023 8 5 2 1 0 68.75
5 Dhananjaya de Silva 2023 2023 2 2 0 0 0 100.00
6 Mohammad Nabi 2024 2024 8 3 4 1 0 37.50

As of 16 July 2024

Seasons

Year League standing Final standing
2020 2nd out of 5 Semi-finalists
2021 4th out of 5 Playoffs
2022 5th out of 5 Group stage
2023 1st out of 5 Runners up
2024 5th out of 5 Group stage

Statistics

Most runs

As of 19 August 2023
Runs Player Seasons
544 Dasun Shanaka 2020–2022
421 Niroshan Dickwella 2020–2021
301 Phil Salt 2021
239 Avishka Fernando 2023
227 Angelo Perera 2020

Highest individual score

As of 8 July 2024
Runs Player Opposition Venue Date
102* Kusal Perera Jaffna Kings Pallekele 3 July 2024
91* Mark Chapman Kandy Falcons 1 July 2024
87 Kusal Mendis Colombo Strikers 5 August 2023
80 Shevon Daniel Galle Gladiators Colombo 17 December 2022
Reeza Hendricks Jaffna Kings Dambulla 6 July 2024
Kusal Perera Colombo Strikers 7 July 2024

Most wickets

As of 19 August 2023
Wickets Player Seasons
15 Imran Tahir 2021
13 Ramesh Mendis 2020–2022
12 Noor Ahmad 2022–2023
10 Dhananjaya de Silva 2023
10 Nuwan Pradeep 2021

Team identity

Dambulla Sixers 2024
since 2026

Anthem

Year Anthem Artist(s)
2021 Tony T, Rohitha Rajapaksa, Dinesh Kanagaratnam, Tehani Imara, Neo Navy
2022 Uthura Dakuna Tharaga Dinana
2024 Awula Awula Abhimane

Kit manufacturers and sponsors

In the inaugural season, Life Bottled Water, Big Brother, Goa King's, Planet Hollywood and Viiking Ventures became as team sponsors[16] while Swarnavahini, Ran FM, E FM and Shree FM was the media partners. TigerExchange News became the team's main sponsor in the 2022 season.[17] In 2023 season, Babu88 Sports became as the principal sponsor of the Dambulla franchise.[18]

Year Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor (front) Shirt sponsor (back) Chest branding Sleeve branding
2020 Planet Hollywood Goa King's Life Bottled Water Big Brother
2021 Hamro PLC N/a i-view London, NLB, Lahore Country Club
2022 Tiger Exchange News Aura Lanka Tiger Exchange News, Aura Airlines
2023 Babu88 Sports Kheloyar Aura Airlines Visit Sri Lanka
2024 MostPlay.news Sequoia Consultants Harriet N/a

References

  1. ^ "SLC approves termination of Colombo Kings and Dambulla Viiking". CricBuzz. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  2. ^ "Colombo Kings, Dambulla Viiking terminate contracts, withdraw from LPL 2021". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  3. ^ "IPG announces new owner for Dambulla Giants". DailyFT. Archived from the original on 4 September 2021. Retrieved 4 September 2021.
  4. ^ "Aura Lanka Group secures ownership of Dambulla Team in LPL". Daily News. 6 December 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  5. ^ "Dambulla franchise rebranded as Dambulla Thunders for LPL 2024". ThePapare. 21 April 2024. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
  6. ^ Sanjeewa, Kanishka (22 May 2024). "Team Owner of Dambulla Thunders arrested for match-fixing charges". ThePapare. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  7. ^ "LPL terminates contract with Dambulla Thunders following owner's arrest". ESPNcricinfo. 22 May 2024. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  8. ^ "2024 LPL to go ahead as scheduled; Dambulla franchise to receive new ownership". Ada Derana. 23 May 2024. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  9. ^ "Aura Lanka chairman Viranjith Thambugala arrested". Newswire. 22 May 2024. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  10. ^ "LA-based civil engineering firm becomes new owner of Dambulla franchise". The Times of India. 5 June 2024. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  11. ^ "Dambulla Sixers Go Pink on July 14, 2024: A Cricket Match for Cancer Awareness and Hope". Sri Lanka Cricket. 9 June 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
  12. ^ "Galle Marvels joins Dambulla Sixers to raise awareness for Cancer". ThePapare. 10 June 2024. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
  13. ^ "Most career runs". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  14. ^ "Highest individual score". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  15. ^ ESPNcricinfo, Last Updated: 20 December 2021
  16. ^ "Dambulla Viiking". TobaccoUnmasked. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  17. ^ "Tiger Exchange News are official sponsors of Dambulla Aura in the ongoing Lanka Premier League T20". Asian News International. 12 December 2022.
  18. ^ "Babu88Sports backs Dambulla Aura as title sponsors in LPL". Newswire. 29 July 2023.
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