2024 Lanka Premier League

On 16 February 2024, it was announced that the fifth season of the tournament would begin on July 1 2024, two days after the conclusion of the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup.[4][5]

Dambulla Aura was purchased by Imperial Sports Group, who renamed it Dambulla Thunders.[6] But later, LPL terminated Dambulla Thunders contract, when its co-owner Tamim Rahman was arrested for match-fixing charges.[7][8] Following that, Sequoia Consultants through DeSilva Holdings got ownership of the Dambulla franchise and renamed it Dambulla Sixers.[9]

Galle Titans changed to Galle Marvels after Cricket Marvels LLC owned by Prem Thakkar acquired the franchise.[10]

Michael Clarke was announced as the brand ambassador for LPL 2024.[11]

Matches at LPL 2024 will feature two "power-blast overs", which will be the 16th and 17th overs of each completed innings, where a maximum of four fielders will be allowed outside the 30-yard circle.[12]

The auction was held on 21 May 2024, where the five franchises were allowed to spend a maximum of US$500,000 each. The auction was held at Shangri-La Colombo.[13]

Each team was allowed to have a squad of 20-24 players, inclusive of a mandatory six overseas players and 14-19 domestic players. Any money not spent from the pre-signing kitty cannot be carried over to the auction. The teams also had a right-to-match option for their players, and the money for that had to come from within the auction kitty.[13]

Bidding took place between two teams at any given time, with a third team allowed to join the bidding only once one of the first two teams had withdrawn from the process. An "accelerated" auction process occurred after the first 70 names were presented for bidding. This process saw franchises nominate 15-20 players, including unsold players, who will go under the hammer.[13]

Players were categorised into two groups, capped and uncapped. Each capped player will be able to register themselves under base prices ranging from $10,000 to $50,000 in $10,000 increments. Uncapped players will be classed with a base price of $20,000 - those having played a minimum of 50 first-class matches; $10,000 - a minimum of 25 first-class matches, or a minimum of 18 matches in the LPL or any other equivalent T20 franchise league; and $5000 - those who do not meet any of the criteria mentioned above.[13]

Matheesha Pathirana became the auction's most expensive player to be picked when Colombo Strikers bought him for a record price of $120,000.[13] Afghanistan Karim Janat became the auction's most expensive overseas player to be picked at $80,000 and it raised eyebrows given Karim Janat is yet to establish and prove himself at international level.

Among the fresh overseas signings, Afghanistan allrounder Karim Janat attracted the biggest bid, going for $80,000 to Dambulla Thunders, a franchise under new ownership this year. Rilee Rossouw was another headliner, joining Kings for $60,000.[13]

R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium in Dambulla and Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy were selected as the venues.[14]

The top four teams qualified for the play-offs

In April 2024, the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) confirmed the fixtures for the competition.[14]

• [ Series home at ESPNcricinfo]