LPL 2025 to Return in November-December Window with Six Teams in Action

LPL 2025 Scheduled with a World Cup Vision

When discussed with LPL tournament director, Samatha Dodanwela, he quotes, “The idea to conduct the LPL during that time frame is aimed at aligning the tournament with the ICC men’s T20 World Cup.” He also added that the potential owners for the sixth team are currently being vetted. 

The last statement was for the ongoing discussion of expanding the tournament by adding a sixth team. The league currently has five franchises representing Jaffna, Colombo, Kandy, Galle, and Dambulla. 

Sixth Team Ownership and Franchise Challenges

The Sri Lanka Cricket is too cautious to introduce new ownership due to the past few years of struggle. In early 2025, the Colombo strikers were eliminated by SLC for their failure to fulfill their contract obligations. Also, the Jaffna Kings were the longest-standing franchise to join in the tournament's second edition. With these, LPL has no franchise owners for these two teams, and new owners are yet to be announced. 

The LPL 2025 matches are to be held in three different stadiums: 

• Rana Premadasa International Cricket Stadium in Colombo.
• Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.
• Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium.

Dodanwela shared that the board intends to provide a better batting area for the coming seasons, which will help players prepare well for the T20 World Cup. Also, the T20 World Cup is co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka. 

He added, “We were quite happy with the wickets during the last edition, particularly in Dambulla and Kandy”. Concluding the discussion with, “We saw a lot of high scores and even some centuries during the tournament. It was only Colombo where batting was a little hard.” 

This vital cricketing schedule is up to new changes, with a new team to enter. Let’s wait and see how this brings a charm to Sri Lanka Cricket for the ICC T20 World Cup, 2026!