Matheesha Pathirana becomes most expensive LPL player
Matheesha Pathirana has become the most expensive Lanka Premier League (LPL) player ever, commanding a US$120,000 price tag as he ended up with his old team, Colombo Strikers, for the 2024 edition of the tournament.
The other big winner of the day was seamer Isuru Udana, who was bought by the new Galle Marvels franchise for $100,000, despite his base price being $30,000 and Marvels being the only franchise that bid for him. The auctioneer checked three times whether he had heard the bid from Marvels correctly. He had. They wanted to pay that much for Udana, who has not played for Sri Lanka since 2021.
Dasun Shanaka also commanded a serious price tag, going to B-Love Kandy for $85,000. In his case, though, Jaffna Kings had been in a bidding war with B-Love.
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.
Afghanistan’s Rahmanullah Gurbaz – a wicketkeeper batter – and Hazratullah Zazai – a top-order batter – also got bids worth $50,000, going to Strikers and Thunders respectively. Spin-bowling allrounder Fabian Allen went to Kings for $32,000, and seam-bowling allrounder Dwaine Pretorius was bought by Marvels for $30,000.
In general, it wasn’t a profitable auction for many overseas players. The likes of Lungi Ngidi, David Wiese, Martin Guptill, Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman, Shoaib Malik, and Mushfiqur Rahim went unsold.
Local spin-bowling allrounders like Dhananjaya de Silva and Dunith Wellalage did okay, though, going for $50,000 to Kings and Strikers respectively. Kusal Perera was the most high-profile local player to not attract a bid, with even former Test captain Dimuth Karunaratne getting a gig for $10,000 with B-Love Kandy.
This version of the LPL has two new sets of owners. Thunders have replaced last year’s owners Dambulla Aura, while Marvels have taken over from Galle Gladiators.
Kings, Strikers, and B-Love Kandy are the surviving franchises from last year. Kings are the only owners that have been around since 2022 or before.
B-Love Kandy
Wanindu Hasaranga, Angelo Mathews, Dushmantha Chameera, Kamindu Mendis, Andre Fletcher, Kyle Mayers, Ashen Bandara, Dinesh Chandimal, Dasun Shanaka, Ramesh Mendis, Dimuth Karunaratne, Mohammed Hasnain, Chamath Gomez, Pawan Rathnayake, Chaturanga de Silva, Kavindu Pathirathne, Lakshan Sandakan, Sammu Ashan, Azam Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammed Ali, Kasun Rajitha
Colombo Strikers
Chamika Karunaratne, Thisara Perera, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Nipun Dhananjaya, Shadab Khan, Glenn Phillips, Chamika Gunasekara, Dunith Wellalage, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Taskin Ahmed, Angelo Perera, Shevon Daniel, Garuka Sanketh, Binura Fernando, Matheesha Pathirana, Shehan Fernando, Kavin Bandara, Isitha Wijesundara, Muhammed Waseem, Allah Ghazanfar
Galle Marvels
Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Lasith Croospulle, Niroshan Dickwella, Maheesh Theekshana, Tim Seifert, Alex Hales, Janith Liyanage, Dwaine Pretorius, Sahan Arachchige, Lahiru Kumara, Prabath Jayasuriya, Sean Williams, Zahoor Khan, Malsha Tharupathi, Isuru Udana, Dhananjaya Lakshan, Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Sadeesha Rajapaksa, Mohommed Shiraz, Kavindu Nadeeshan, Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Chamindu Wijesinghe, Jeffrey Vandersay, Yuri Koththigoda
Dambulla Thunders
Dilshan Madushanka, Nuwan Thushara, Dushan Hemantha, Praveen Jayawickrama, Mustafizur Rahman, Ibrahim Zadran, Lahiru Udara, Akila Dananjaya, Danushka Gunathilaka, Iftikhar Ahmed, Nuwanidu Fernando, Nuwan Pradeep, Ranesh Silva, Sohan de Livera, Hazratullah Zazai, Karim Janat, Asela Gunaratne, Lahiru Madushanka, Rusanda Gamage, Mithun Jayawickrama, Ayana Siriwardhana, Sonal Dinusha, Haider Ali, Santhush Gunathilaka
Jaffna Kings
Kusal Mendis, Avishka Fernando, Charith Asalanka, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Azmatullah Omarzai, Noor Ahmad, Rilee Roussow, Fabian Allen, Dhananjaya de Silva, Pramod Madushan, Jason Behrendorff, Asitha Fernando, Vishad Randika, Lahiru Samarakoon, Wanuja Sahan, Eshan Malinga, Alex Ross, Ahan Wickramasinghe, Murvin Abinash, Arul Pragasam, Pathum Nissanka, Nishan Madushka, Theesan Vithushan, Nisala Tharaka
(Courtesy ESPN Cricinfo)
