Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) in collaboration with the event rights holder of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) – the IPG Group, has officially announced that the franchise partnerships of the ‘Colombo Strikers’ and ‘Jaffna Kings’ have been terminated.

According to a statement issued today (April 28), the terminations were made due to the respective franchises’ failure to fulfill contractual obligations outlined in their agreements with the IPG Group, which were established at the commencement of their participation in the league.

Accordingly, the forthcoming edition of the Lanka Premier League will feature franchises representing Colombo and Jaffna under new ownership, the statement notes.

As the event rights holder, the IPG Group retains the exclusive rights over the LPL franchise teams and, accordingly, is vested with the authority to transfer and/or assign the ownership rights of the said franchises to interested parties.

Sri Lanka Cricket and The IPG Group remain committed to upholding the integrity, standards, and success of the Lanka Premier League and look forward to an exciting upcoming season with renewed participation.

Rajasthan Royals’ 14-year-old batter Vaibhav Suryavanshi made history as the youngest player to hit a century in men’s T20s.

Suryavanshi pulled Rashid Khan for six to bring up the second fastest hundred in the Indian Premier League (IPL) – and fastest by an Indian player – from 35 balls.

The teenage left-hander smashed seven fours and 11 sixes before he was eventually bowled for a stunning 101 from 38 balls as the Royals romped to a eight-wicket win over Gujarat Titans.

Suryavanshi, who only turned 14 last month and was signed at last year’s auction for £103,789 (1.1 crore rupees), became the youngest player to feature in the IPL earlier in April and made an immediate impact by hitting his first ball for six.

He showed all of that same swagger in Jaipur as he dismantled the Gujarat attack to ensure Rajasthan made light work of a chase of 210 for victory.

Suryavanshi put on 166 with India batter Yashasvi Jaiswal, who ended unbeaten on 70 from 40, in a remarkable display of hitting.

A maximum over deep mid-wicket brought up the century in the 11th over and only West Indies great Chris Gayle, with a 30-ball ton for Royal Challengers Bengaluru against Pune Warriors in 2013, has got to the milestone quicker in the IPL.

Victory ended a run of five straight losses for Rajasthan to keep their slim hopes of making the knockout stages alive.

Meanwhile, Gujarat – for whom Shubman Gill made 84 from 50 balls and former England skipper Jos Buttler hit an unbeaten half-century in a losing cause – drop to third in the IPL table on net run-rate.

Who is Vaibhav Suryavanshi?

Suryavanshi became the youngest player to be signed by an IPL team when he was picked up at the auction after a bidding war last year.

He made headlines last October when, aged 13, he scored a 58-ball century for India Under-19s in a Youth Test against Australia Under-19s in Chennai.

Suryavanshi was also part of India’s Under-19 Asia Cup squad last year. There he scored 176 runs at an average of 44.

He plays first-class cricket for Bihar, a state in eastern India where he grew up, and made his debut aged 12 last January.

He has played five Ranji Trophy matches for Bihar and has scored 100 runs with a highest score of 41.

(BBC News)

Sri Lanka ‘A’ secured a dominant victory over Ireland ‘A’ to clinch the title in their Tri-Nation Cricket final played at Abu Dhabi yesterday (April 25).

Batting first, Ireland ‘A’ were bowled out for just 200 runs in 47.3 overs.

In reply, Sri Lanka ‘A’ were in dire straits losing half of the side for just 43 runs. However, Pavan Rathnayake and Milan Rathnayake salvaged the innings, adding a match-winning unbeaten partnership worth 160 runs for the 6th wicket, sealing victory with 15.3 overs to spare.

Pavan scored 77 runs off 76 balls with 09 fours and 02 sixes while Milan hit 77 runs off 83 balls with 09 fours and 02 sixes.

Milan Rathnayake was named Player of the Final for his all-round performance, having also claimed 3 wickets for just 24 runs in the Irish innings.

Tharindu Rathnayake also stood out, taking 04 wickets for 33 runs in a key performance.

It is singular that all three Rathnayake players – Milan, Pawan, and Tharindu -were key contributors towards SL ‘A’s victory.

The team was captained by Sadeera Samarawickrama, with Avishka Gunawardene serving as head coach.

(Special reporter from Abu Dhabi ; 

Sponsored by: Sri Lankan Airlines)