2026 Lanka Premier League players' draft

2026 Lanka Premier League
players' draft
General information
SportCricket
Date1 June 2026
Time14:30 (SLST)
LocationColombo, Sri Lanka
Overview
77 total selections in 10 rounds
League2026 Lanka Premier League
Teams5
Most selections16 each by
Colombo Kaps
Galle Gallants
Kandy Royals
Fewest selections14 by Dambulla Sixers

The 2026 Lanka Premier League was the 6th edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL), a professional Twenty20 (T20) cricket league held in Sri Lanka, organised by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC). It has been held annually since the first edition in 2020 with the exception of 2025.[1] In January 2026, the SLC announced that instead of an auction a players' draft would be held ahead of the 2026 season.[2] The players' draft was originally scheduled for 22 March 2026[3] but was postponed to 1 June 2026.[4] Overseas player registrations commenced on 8 May[5] and over 650 players from 21 countries registered for the draft and 310 were shortlisted.[6] Twenty players including ten overseas players were directly signed before the draft. A total of 77 players including 25 overseas players were signed in the draft.

Pre-draft direct signings

Each team was allowed to sign two Icon players and two Star players, one of each being a domestic player and the other an overseas player, with a salary range of US$60,000 to US$80,000.[7][8] The SLC initially required the Icon and Star players to have more than 250,000 social media followers[9] which was subject to criticism[10] and the rule was subsequently withdrawn.[11]

Pre-draft direct signings[7][8]
Player category Salary range Colombo Kaps Dambulla Sixers Galle Gallants Jaffna Kings Kandy Royals
Domestic Icon US$60,000 – US$80,000Kusal MendisDushmantha ChameeraDasun ShanakaBhanuka RajapaksaWanindu Hasaranga
Domestic Star US$60,000 – US$80,000Kamindu MendisDinesh ChandimalEshan MalingaDunith WellalageAngelo Mathews
Overseas Icon US$60,000 – US$80,000James NeeshamSahibzada FarhanRassie van der DussenShakib Al HasanMoeen Ali
Overseas Star US$60,000 – US$80,000Ben McDermottReeza HendricksLitton Das[a]Taskin AhmedVijay Shankar
  1. ↑ Galle Gallants originally signed Sikandar Raza pre-draft, but due to his unavailability he was replaced by Litton Das.[12]

Players' draft

Each team was required to sign at least 14 players, with a maximum of 16 players under 10 categories, including 5 overseas players in 4 categories. One overseas player had to be from an associate country while two domestic players had to be under the age of 23.[13][14][15]

Domestic player signings[13][14][15]
Player category Salary Colombo Kaps Dambulla Sixers Galle Gallants Jaffna Kings Kandy Royals
Platinum US$50,000Binura FernandoMaheesh TheekshanaCharith AsalankaAvishka FernandoNuwan Thushara
Gold US$30,000 eachSadeera SamarawickramaNiroshan DickwellaPramod MadushanDilshan MadushankaKusal Perera
Milan RathnayakePavan RathnayakeLasith CroospulleKamil MisharaAsitha Fernando
Janith LiyanageAkila DananjayaVijayakanth ViyaskanthTraveen MathewGaruka Sanketh
Classic US$20,000 eachJeffrey VandersayDhananjaya LakshanSahan ArachchigeMohamed ShirazVishen Halambage
Thanuka DabareRamesh MendisChamika KarunaratneChamindu WickramasingheMuditha Lakshan
Movin SubasinghaSachitha JayathilakeTharindu RathnayakeNuwanidu FernandoLahiru Udara
Emerging U23 US$10,000 eachMalsha TharupathiVishwa Lahiru KumaraDinura KalupahanaKugathas MathulanSahan Mihira
Sharujan ShanmuganathanGayana WeerasingheYuri KoththigodaPraveen ManishaPavan Sandesh
Optional Gold US$30,000Wanuja SahanN/aKasun RajithaNishan MadushkaDushan Hemantha
Optional Classic US$20,000Anthony Arul PragasamN/aSachindu ColombageN/aIsitha Wijesundara
Overseas player signings[13][14][15]
Player category Salary Colombo Kaps Dambulla Sixers Galle Gallants Jaffna Kings Kandy Royals
Platinum US$50,000Mujeeb Ur RahmanFazalhaq FarooqiMohammad NawazDavid WieseRahmanullah Gurbaz
Gold US$30,000Shahnawaz DahaniMohammad Wasim Jr.Akif JavedIbrahim ZadranDaniel Sams
Classic US$20,000 eachMohammad HarisGulbadin NaibSam HarperSandeep LamichhaneDale Phillips
Hasan MahmudDian ForresterMehidy Hasan MirazLizaad WilliamsZahir Khan
Associate Star US$15,000Kushal BhurtelShadley van SchalkwykHaider AliDipendra Singh AireeBrandon McMullen

Withdrawn players

Withdrawn players from the 2026 Lanka Premier League
Player Team Category Reason Withdrawal
announcement
date		 Replacement player Signing date Ref.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz Kandy RoyalsOverseas PlatinumNational duty4 June 2026Sediqullah Atal8 July 2026[16]
Haider Ali Galle GallantsAssociate StarNational duty16 June 2026Virandeep Singh16 June 2026[17]
Dian Forrester Dambulla SixersOverseas ClassicParticipating in GSL19 June 2026Marques Ackerman19 June 2026[18]
Mohammad Haris Colombo KapsOverseas ClassicParticipating in GSL1 July 2026Rubin Hermann1 July 2026[19]
Dipendra Singh Airee Jaffna KingsAssociate StarNational duty8 July 2026Zahoor Khan8 July 2026[20]
Rassie van der Dussen Galle GallantsOverseas IconPersonal reasons9 July 2026Chris Lynn11 July 2026[21]
Daniel Sams Kandy RoyalsOverseas GoldPersonal reasons11 July 2026Shaheen Shah Afridi12 July 2026[22]
Litton Das Galle GallantsOverseas StarLeft calf injury14 July 2026Nurul Hasan15 July 2026[23]
Kusal Mendis Colombo KapsDomestic IconHamstring injury22 July 2026Ashen Bandara24 July 2026[24]
Taskin Ahmed Jaffna KingsOverseas StarNational duty23 July 2026Tawhid Hridoy23 July 2026[25]
Vishen Halambage Kandy RoyalsDomestic ClassicHamstring injury25 July 2026Kavija Gamage25 July 2026[24]
Hasan Mahmud Colombo KapsOverseas ClassicNational duty27 July 2026Ripon Mondol27 July 2026[24]
Fazalhaq Farooqi Dambulla SixersOverseas PlatinumNational duty27 July 2026Sikandar Raza27 July 2026[26][24]
Mehidy Hasan Miraz Galle GallantsOverseas ClassicNational duty31 July 2026Tom Rogers31 July 2026[27]
Brandon McMullen Kandy RoyalsAssociate StarNational duty1 August 2026N/a[28]
Ibrahim Zadran Jaffna KingsOverseas GoldNational duty1 August 2026Khawaja Nafay1 August 2026[28]
Moeen Ali Kandy RoyalsOverseas IconDomestic commitments1 August 2026N/a[29][28]
Sediqullah Atal Kandy RoyalsOverseas PlatinumNational duty1 August 2026N/a[28]

References

  1. ↑ "SLC postpones 2025 edition of LPL". ESPNcricinfo. 11 October 2025. Archived from the original on 23 October 2025. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
  2. ↑ "No auction, just player draft for Lanka Premier League". Ada Derana. 13 January 2026. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  3. ↑ "Lanka Premier League to conduct player draft instead of auction on March 22". Geo Super. 13 January 2026. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  4. ↑ "LPL player draft on June 1st : Five key updates". NewsWire. 25 May 2026. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
  5. ↑ "Foreign player registration for LPL 2026 to begin on May 8". ThePapare. 5 May 2026. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  6. ↑ "Lanka Premier League 2026 Sees Over 650 Overseas Player Registrations". Sri Lanka Cricket. 25 May 2026. Retrieved 13 August 2026.
  7. 1 2 "LPL teams unveil 20-player direct signing list". NewsWire. 29 May 2026. Retrieved 29 May 2026.
  8. 1 2 "LPL 2026 attracts top international talent ahead of player draft". Ada Derana. 29 May 2026. Retrieved 30 May 2026.
  9. ↑ "Low Followers? No LPL: Sri Lanka League's Bizarre Criteria Raises Eyebrows". News18. 9 May 2026. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  10. ↑ "Sri Lanka Cricket's 250K Followers Rule Triggers Massive Controversy". ABP Live. 9 May 2026. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  11. ↑ "No More 250K Followers Needed: Sri Lanka Cricket Withdraws Controversial LPL Rule". News18. 9 May 2026. Retrieved 16 May 2026.
  12. ↑ "Litton joins Galle Gallants to play LPL". Daily Observer. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  13. 1 2 3 "LPL 2026: Final Squads". Sri Lanka Cricket. 2 June 2026. Retrieved 3 June 2026.
  14. 1 2 3 Sanjeewa, Kanishka (1 June 2026). "Full LPL 2026 Squads Following the Player Draft". ThePapare. Retrieved 3 June 2026.
  15. 1 2 3 Jain, Naman (2 June 2026). "All LPL 2026 squads after Lanka Premier League draft". Inside Sport. Retrieved 3 June 2026.
  16. ↑ "Rahmanullah Gurbaz pulls out of LPL 2026". NewsWire. 3 June 2026. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
  17. ↑ "Virandeep Singh drafted into Galle Gallants Squad for Lanka Premier League 2026". ThePapare. 16 June 2026. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  18. ↑ Hess, Stuart (30 July 2026). "Forrester gains experience playing for Aussie franchise in Guyana". Daily Dispatch. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
  19. ↑ "Colombo Kaps win their fourth match as Rubin Hermann blasts 26-ball 48 - LPL T20". Lanka Premier League. Retrieved 21 August 2026.
  20. ↑ "All-round contributions from Shakib, Wellalage and Wickramsinghe's 15-ball 43 lead Jaffna Kings to playoffs - LPL T20". Lanka Premier League. Retrieved 21 August 2026.
  21. ↑ "Galle Gallants beat Jaffna Kings by 60 Runs". Lanka Premier League. Retrieved 21 August 2026.
  22. ↑ "Shaheen Afridi set to join Kandy Royals for Lanka Premier League". Daily Pakistan. 12 July 2026. Retrieved 12 July 2026.
  23. ↑ Khan, Mutasim Billah. "Nurul Hasan Sohan to replace injured Litton Das in Galle Gallants' LPL squad". BDCricTime. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
  24. 1 2 3 4 "Zimbabwe star Sikandar Raza joins Dambulla Sixers as LPL 2026 confirms key player replacements - LPL T20". Lanka Premier League. 28 July 2026. Retrieved 14 August 2026.
  25. ↑ "Bangladesh Towhid Hridoy replaces Taskin Ahmed for Jaffna Kings". Lanka Premier League. 26 July 2026. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
  26. ↑ "Zimbabwe star Sikandar Raza joins Dambulla Sixers as LPL 2026 confirms key player replacements". Malaysia Sun. 30 July 2026. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
  27. ↑ Balasuriya, Madushka (30 July 2026). "Dambulla, Colombo, Jaffna, Galle make late changes as playoffs race heats up". Cricinfo. Retrieved 21 August 2026.
  28. 1 2 3 4 "LPL Players Updates - LPL T20". Lanka Premier League. 1 August 2026. Retrieved 14 August 2026.
  29. ↑ "Moeen Ali to miss start of CPL 2026 despite captaincy role after The Hundred deal". Cricket Addictor. 2 August 2026. Retrieved 14 August 2026.
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