Dashing West Indies batter Chris Gayle and former South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis were among the star cricketers picked during the 'Player Draft' of the Lanka Premier League. (More Cricket News)
A total of 600 players, consisting of 300 overseas and 300 Sri Lankan, featured in the 'Player Draft' on Tuesday which was organized virtually with the participation of five franchise owners and the Sri Lanka Cricket officials.
Each of the five franchises which include Colombo Stars, Dambulla Giants, Galle Gladiators, Jaffna Kings and Kandy Warriors have packed their teams with a host of explosive and international cricket stars.
The Lanka Premier League is set to be held from December 5 to 2.
"It gives me immense pleasure to see so many international cricketing stars being part of various Lanka Premier League teams," Anil Mohan, Founder and CEO of Dubai-based production giant IPG, the official promoter of LPL, said in a release.
"No tournament can be successful without big stars and we are absolutely blessed to have some of the best cricket players from around the world in LPL. Each of the franchises have picked well-balanced sides which will make the second edition of the tournament very interesting."
Players picked by franchises:
Colombo Stars: Chris Gayle, Dushmantha Cheemara, Ahmed Shehzad, Dilshan Munaweera, Mohammad Irfan, Al Amin Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Pathum Nissanka Silva, Lakshan Sandakan, Seekkuge Prasanna, Manpreet Singh, Gihan Rupasinghe, Lahiru Gamage, TM Sampath, Nuwanidu Fernando, Jehan Kieth Zeon Daniel, Malindu Maduranga, Nalin Priyadarshana, Hashan Dumindu Ranasinghe and Kanagarathinam Kabilraj.
Dambulla Giants: Imran Tahir, Dasun Shanaka, Rilee Rossouw, Chamika Karunaratne, Sohaib Maqsood, Odean Smith, Josh Little, Niroshan Dickwella, Nuwan Pradeep, Ramesh Mendis, Najibullah Zadran, Tharindu Ratnayake, Lahiru Udara Igalagamage, Sacha DeAlwis Seneveratne, Muditha Lakshan, Kalana Perera, Sachitha Jayathilake, Madushan Ravichandrakumar, Janith Liyanage and Chamikara Edirisinghe.
Galle Gladiators: Mohammad Hafeez, Isuru Udana, Tabraiz Shamsi, Kusal Mendis, Mohammad Amir, Samit Patel, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Danushka Gunathilaka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dhananjaya Lakshan, Anwar Ali, DH Ashan Pulina Tharanga, Nuwan Thushara, Lahiru Madushanka, Dilshan Madushanka, Ashian Daniel, Kevin Koththigoda, Mohammed Shamaaz, Suminda Lakshan and Angelo Jayasinghe.
Jaffna Kings: Faf du Plessis, Thisara Perera, Wahab Riaz, Wanindu Hasaranga, Shoaib Malik, Usman Shinwari, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Avishka Fernando, Upul Tharanga, Chaturanga de Silva, Jayden Seales, Suranga Lakmal, Ashen Bandara, Maheesh Theekshana, Chamika Gunasekara, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Theivendiram Dinoshan, Ashan Randika, Rathnaraj Thenuradan and Wijesuriya Arachchige Krishan Sanjula.
Kandy Warriors: Rovman Powell, Charith Asalanka, Cameron Delport, Lahiru Kumara, Mohammad Mithun, Nazmul Islam Apu, Mehedi Hasan Rana, Angelo Perera, Asela Gunaratne, Milinda Siriwardana, Amjad Khan, Ishan Jayaratne, Binura Udara Fernando, Kamindu Mendis, Kamil Mishara, Ayana Siriwardene, Nimesh Vimukthi, Udara Jayasundara, Shashika Dulshan and Kalhara Senarathna.
