2026 Lanka Premier League
Sixth edition of Lanka Premier League
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The 2026 Lanka Premier League will be the sixth edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL), a Twenty20 franchise cricket tournament in Sri Lanka. The league will be organised by Sri Lanka Cricket. The tournament will begin on 17 July and the final will be played on 8 August 2026. Five franchise teams will take part in a double round-robin league followed by a playoffs.
| Dates | 17 July – 8 August 2026 |
|---|---|
| Administrator | Sri Lanka Cricket |
| Cricket format | Twenty20 |
| Tournament format(s) | Double round-robin and playoffs |
| Participants | 5 |
| Matches | 24 |
| Official website | Lanka Premier League |
Jaffna Kings are the defending champions for the 2026 season.
Background
As part of Sri Lanka's preparations for the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup, the Sri Lanka Cricket announced on 1 August 2025 that the sixth edition of the Lanka Premier League would begin on 23 November 2025.[1]
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) terminated both Jaffna Kings and Colombo Strikers franchises for failing to upload contractual obligations.[2]
On October 6, the organizers of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) announced that the start of the tournament would be postponed to December 1.[3]
On the same day, the organizers of LPL announced that the Indian national cricket team players would participate in the 6th edition of the Lankan Premier League.[4][5] Until then, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had not allowed any Indian player from the Indian national side or the Indian Premier League (IPL) to participate in any other cricket league in the world. This was the first time that players from the Indian national side would participate in a foreign franchise cricket league, breaking the long-standing tradition of being limited to Indian Premier League.
The Colombo franchise was purchased by Witness Sports Alliance LLC, led by Indian entrepreneurs Saranyan Palaniswamy and K.C. Shyam Kangayan, and was renamed as Colombo Kaps.[6]
On October 24, organizers of Lanka Premier League announced that West Indies cricket icon Chris Gayle has been appointed as the brand ambassador for the sixth edition of the Lanka Premier League.[7]
On 10 May, It was announced that the Galle franchise was purchased by Gallant Sports and Media LLC, led by Kiran Mantripragada, and was renamed as Galle Gallants.[8] On 15 May, Jaffna Kings announced that the team was acquired by Sports Commune, led by Indian sports entrepreneurs Manjot Kalra and Mayank Goel.
Schedule changes
The sixth edition of the Lanka Premier League underwent several scheduling changes and postponements before the final fixture list was set.
The tournament was initially scheduled to take place across three venues from 27 November to 23 December 2025.[9][10][11] However, on 22 October 2025, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) announced its postponement to allow for venue upgrades and broader preparation ahead of the 2026 Men's T20 World Cup, which was co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka from February to March 2026.[12][13][14]
On 1 December 2025, SLC announced a tentative mid-2026 window, scheduling the competition to run from 8 July to 8 August 2026 across four venues.[15][16]
The schedule was later adjusted to a narrower window from 10 July to 5 August 2026.[17][18][19] Ultimately, the dates were pushed back by an additional week; the tournament was officially finalized to commence on 17 July 2026, with the final scheduled for 8 August 2026.[20][21][22]
Venues
| City | Colombo | Dambulla | Kandy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ground | R. Premadasa Stadium | Sinhalese Sports Club Cricket Ground | Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium | Pallekele International Cricket Stadium |
 |
 |
 |
 | |
| Capacity | 35,000 | 10,000 | 16,800 | 35,000 |
| Matches | TBA | |||
Squads
Standings
Points table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colombo Kaps | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | Advanced to Qualifier 1 |
| 2 | Dambulla Sixers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 3 | Galle Gallants | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | Advanced to Eliminator |
| 4 | Kandy Falcons | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | |
| 5 | Jaffna Kings | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
League Stage
The fixtures for the sixth edition of the Lanka Premier League were officially released by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) on 18 May 2026.[25][26] The tournament is scheduled to begin on 17 July 2026 with an opening ceremony followed by a match between Jaffna Kings and Galle Gallants at the Sinhalese Sports Club Cricket Ground in Colombo, concluding with the final at the R. Premadasa Stadium on 8 August 2026.[27][28]
Playoffs
Bracket
| Qualifier 1 | Qualifier 2 | Final | |||||||||||
| 5 August 2026 – Colombo (RPS) | 8 August 2026 – Colombo (RPS) | ||||||||||||
| 1 | 1st placed team | Q1W | Winner of Qualifier 1 | ||||||||||
| 2 | 2nd placed team | 7 August 2026 – Colombo (RPS) | Q2W | Winner of Qualifier 2 | |||||||||
| Q1L | Loser of Qualifier 1 | ||||||||||||
| Eliminator | EW | Winner of Eliminator | |||||||||||
| 5 August 2026 – Colombo (RPS) | |||||||||||||
| 3 | 3rd placed team | ||||||||||||
| 4 | 4th placed team | ||||||||||||