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COLOMBO: Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) on Wednesday announced the postponement of the sixth edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) in a bid to prepare for the forthcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026.
The Premier League was initially scheduled to be played in the November-December window; however, the tournament has now been moved ahead.
This comes as Sri Lanka and India are set to host the T20 World Cup 2026, which will be played from February 7 to March 8.
The board cited better preparation for the following year’s mega event as the main reason behind the postponement of the tournament.
“Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) wishes to announce that the Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2025 will not be held this year as originally planned,” the board statement read.
The decision was taken after careful consideration of the broader requirement of preparing well in advance for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, which will be co-hosted by Sri Lanka and India during February – March 2026,” it added.
The cricket board also emphasized venue upgradation and infrastructure ahead of the World Cup.
“SLC believes this decision will provide adequate time to work on enhancing and upgrading the ground infrastructure to conduct a successful tournament in the country.”
For the unversed, the 20-team tournament is likely to be played across five venues in India and two in Sri Lanka.
The 2026 tournament will retain the same format as the previous edition, with 20 teams divided into four groups of five. The top two from each group will advance to the Super Eight stage, followed by semi-finals and the final.
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