Sri Lanka cricket grabs 30 million dollars in franchise deals

In a major breakthrough for Sri Lanka Cricket, all seven Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) franchises have been snapped up with bids worth over 30 million U.S. dollars received, a statement said here on Tuesday.

It was 9 million U.S. dollars above the targeted minimum of 21 million U.S. dollars expected by Sri Lanka Cricket, the cricket board said in the statement.

When the deadline for bids closed on Monday, the seven franchises had racked in an average bid of 4.31 million U.S. dollars each, with the highest estimated at 5 million U.S. dollars.

The base price per franchisee was 3 million U.S. dollars.

Analysts described the successful conclusion of SLPL franchise as a “jackpot” for Sri Lanka Cricket and SLPL, which drew some criticism as being a non-starter after being postponed last year.

“The franchise is for seven years unlike the perpetual deal in Indian Premier League. Sri Lanka Cricket’s Executive Committee is to meet Friday to formally accept and ratify the bids,” it said.

Each franchise will have a squad of 18 players and could have up to a maximum of six foreign players.

The 21-day SLPL is scheduled to start on August 10 with 24 games being played in the capital Colombo and the central city of Kandy. (Xinhua-ANI)