Auction system scrapped for upcoming Lanka Premier League, players to be picked through draft

Published - 13 Jan 2026, 18:54 IST | Updated - 13 Jan 2026, 19:02 IST

Sri Lanka Cricket, on Tuesday, January 13 has officially confirmed that the upcoming season of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) will not feature a player auction. In something that is not happening for the first time in the marquee T20 tournament's history, the teams will be seen picking their squads through a player draft model. Notably, the event for the player draft will be held on March 22.

The sixth edition of the tournament, which was initially planned for December 2025, has been rescheduled to run from July 8 to August 8. The shift was made to ensure venue readiness ahead of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which Sri Lanka will co-host with India. The revised window also aligns with SLC’s preferred international calendar.

This marks the first return to the draft system since 2022, after the previous two seasons were conducted using the player auctions. According to an official SLC media release, franchises will be able to select both Sri Lankan and overseas players through the draft for the upcoming season.

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Talks of introducing a sixth team had surfaced before the tournament’s postponement, but no further updates have come forward. And same as in the previous editions, the league is currently expected to feature five teams representing Colombo, Galle, Kandy, Dambulla, and Jaffna.

Earlier this year, SLC had terminated the Jaffna Kings and Colombo Strikers franchises due to failure to meet contractual obligations. As things stand, the LPL does not have any franchise owners continuing from before 2024, with new owners for the suspended teams, Colombo and Jaffna teams, yet to be announced.

The ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, is scheduled to take place from February 7 to March 8, and will feature three key venues in Sri Lanka to host at least 20 matches, including all of Group B and Pakistan's group-stage games. The matches for the season will be hosted at three venues — R. Premadasa Stadium and Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo, and Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy.