![SLC has announced draft for LPL 6 [Source: Visharad_KW22]](https://onecricketnews.akamaized.net/parth-editor/oc-dashboard/news-images-prod/1768310495363_TimSiefertLPL.jpg?type=hq)
SLC has announced draft for LPL 6 [Source: Visharad_KW22]
Sri Lanka Cricket has once again decided to pivot from the player auction system and are set to conduct a draft for the Lanka Premier League season 6, which was originally scheduled to be played from November 27 to December 23 across three marquee venues in the country in Colombo, Kandy and Dambulla.
Considering the upcoming T20 World Cup, where Sri Lanka will co-host the tournament between February 7 and March 8, the season 2025 of LPL was rescheduled to be played from July 8 to August 8, where a new champion will be crowned after Jaffna Kings were terminated by SLC earlier in 2025 due to contractual issues.
SLC scraps auction for draft for LPL 6
Having confirmed the new dates for the season earlier in December to get the T20 World Cup stadiums ready in time, the SLC media team confirmed that after two years of conducting hosting auctions, the board has decided to move back to the draft process, where players from home and overseas will be up for grabs.
The player draft will take place at the end of the T20 mega-event on March 22 and is likely to follow the similar proceedings like it did through 2020 to 2022.
"During the draft, franchises will select both Sri Lankan and overseas players for the upcoming season of Sri Lanka's premier domestic T20 tournament," SLC revealed through the media team.
New era of LPL on hold
The Sri Lankan cricket board was originally prepared to introduce a new (sixth) team in the LPL from the 6th season onwards. However, due to the delay in the season, the expansion has been kept on hold and the teams from exisiting cities will continue to compete in the tournament.
While Jaffna Kings and Colombo Strikers were terminated due to "failure to uphold contractual obligations," the two teams from the respective regions will still play this edition; however, the new owners are yet to be announced.
Ahead of the sixth season, Jaffna Kings (previously Stallions) have won the tournament on four occassions, while B-Love Kandy clinched the 2023 title. Colombo, Galle Marvels and Dambulla Sixers continue to wait for their first championship win.
As things stand, SLC's primary focus remains a smooth conduct of the T20 World Cup and potentially win the title again for the first time since 2014 in front of their home crowd. Two venues from Colombo, Sinhalese Sports Club and R. Premadasa Stadium, alongside Pallekele International Cricket Stadium are picked as the venues for the tournament. Five other venues will be based in major Indian cities.
