Lanka Premier League completes successful Season 2; Thisara Perera and Shoaib Malik laud IPG Group and SLC
The second season of the Lanka Premier League garnered tremendous interest from all corners of the world as IPG Group and Sri Lanka Cricket conducted yet another successful season from 05 December 2021 to 23 December 2021 in Colombo and Hambantota.
“The high quality of cricket we have seen played at the LPL is testimony to the new talent that is in abundance in Sri Lanka that without a tourney such as this would have been almost impossible to discover,” Hon. Namal Rajapaksa MP, Minister of Youth and Sports said. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank Anil Mohan, the Founder CEO of the IPG Group for organizing this magnificent tourney, the franchise owners, all the sponsors, and the public for all the support they have rendered towards making the LPL a resounding success,” Minister Rajapaksa further said.
The competition was widely watched in all cricket-loving nations which include India, Pakistan, Australia, United Kingdom, USA, Canada, Bangladesh, and the host nation Sri Lanka. The success of the tournament was further imprinted by the thousands of fans flocking the stadium during the competition. The Final match between Jaffna Kings and Galle Gladiators witnessed 11,000 (50 percent capacity of Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium in Hambantota) fans cheering for their respective teams.
Shoaib Malik lauds the organizers of the Lanka Premier League
Speaking at the awards ceremony of the grand finale, Anil Mohan, Founder, and CEO of the IPG Group said, “On behalf of the IPG Group, I would like to thank the Sports Minister, Namal Rajapaksa, President of Sri Lanka Cricket, Shammi Silva, all our sponsors, players, match officials and most importantly the cricket-loving people of Sri Lanka who came out wholeheartedly to support the second season of the Lanka Premier League. With the support of all our stakeholders, we have been able to deliver an outstanding season of LPL. Our aim is to make this league a perfect launchpad for young cricketers from Sri Lanka and the world and make this game bigger, better, and stronger.”
The Jaffna Kings emerged as the champions after defeating Galle Gladiators by 23 runs in the Final on Thursday. The Jaffna franchise won their second title in two years.
Veteran T20 cricketer and Jaffna Kings player Shoaib Malik lauded the organizers of the Lanka Premier League, “Hats off and big congrats to IPG Group and Sri Lanka Cricket for organizing the tournament. There is a massive improvement in the organization of the competition as compared to last year. There were a lot of sponsors this year and the big channels broadcasted the tournament, so that shows that everything is going in the right direction.”
The All-rounder also thanked the fans for going to the stadium, “On our way to the stadium from the hotel on the final day, I saw a lot of people going towards the ground. And when I got to the ground, I saw a full house. So, thanks a lot to the fans for coming to the stadium. As players, we want to see a big crowd enjoying the cricket.”
Speaking about the organization of the competition, Jaffna Kings’ Captain Thisara Perera said, “I would like to thank IPG Group and Sri Lanka Cricket for organizing the tournament. It’s difficult to host a tournament in a bubble. The second season was much better than the first one. I feel the third edition will be better than this season. I would also like to thank the fans for coming to the stadium. They have got a chance to watch a match in the stadium after a long time.”
