Lanka's 'IPL' hit as franchise owners pull out

The Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) has run into trouble with the seven franchise owners pulling out of the 2013 edition.

Styled on the cash-rich IPL, it seems like the end of the SLPL after the team owners failed to meet the financial targets in the inaugural edition last year, a Sri Lanka daily reported.

“We have a problem this year. The franchise owners are pulling out,” Sports Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage has been quoted as saying in Ceylon Today newspaper.

According to minister Aluthgamage, the franchise owners failed to recover their investment last year and instead incurred heavy losses, which has been cited as the main reason for their pull out.

“We (sports ministry) are going to discuss this with Sri Lanka Cricket and see what is best they could do,” the minister added.

The SLPL was doomed from the beginning having failed to attract the Indian stars.
 
Adding to their woes was the proposed Caribbean Premier League clashing with the SLPL.

The Caribbean Premier League, another T-20 domestic league starts in late July clashing with the SLPL that was scheduled to start on August 10.

“The tournament is in trouble,” said Aluthgamage.

The BCCI barred 12 Indian cricketers from appearing in the SLPL last year alleging that the organizer, Singapore-based Somerset Entertainment, had links to Lalit Modi, the sacked former boss of the IPL.

The absence of Indian stars reduced the marketing value of the SLPL which was played to almost empty stands.

The inaugural SLPL in 2011 had to be called off at the last minute due to the non-availability of Indian players, before kicking off last year without the Indians.

Uva Next won the inaugural championship last year but they had their share of troubles with late payments, the report added.

There were also reports in the Indian media that two of the bookies arrested in the raging spot-fixing scandal in the IPL were owners of one of the franchises in the SLPL.

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