Chris Gayle, Shahid Afridi, Shakib Al Hasan, Munaf Patel among international players in LPL auction

Chris Gayle, Daren Sammy, Darren Bravo, Shahid Afridi, Shakib Al Hasan, Ravi Bopara, Colin Munro, Vernon Philander and Munaf Patel are some of the international players to go under the hammer for the Lanka Premier League auction, which will be held on October 1. In all, the five franchises will have a choice of around 150 players to bid for.

Each franchise can buy up to six international players. That means the LPL is likely to 30 international cricketers and 65 local cricketers, with each squad having 19 members.

As per the current schedule, the tournament will be held from November 14 and December 6. It will feature 23 matches, to be played in Dambulla, Pallekele and Hambantota, while the launch will take place in Hambantota.

However, government approval for a shorter quarantine period for players, officials and broadcast staff is yet to be secured; it is this hurdle that had forced the postponement of the LPL, originally slated to begin in late August.

The SLC officials have asked that the quarantine period for those arriving in the country for this tournament be reduced to seven days, from the present 14-day period. There is no known community spread of Covid-19 in Sri Lanka at present, but quarantine protocols have been incredibly strict in order to prevent the spread of the virus from infected new arrivals.