Michael Roberts
I am aging …. Quite clearly! I have not been aware that there has been a 20-over series in cricket ongoing in Sri Lanka for some four years now; and that the present series with five teams involved seems to be located at the grounds in Dambulla in the Central Province …. the teams being the Dambulla Sixers, the B-Love Kandy, the Colombo Strikers, the Galle Marvels and the Jaffna Kings.
The series may conceivably be a poor, degenerate cousin alongside the IPL series in India and some of the other livewire series around the world. …. And, YES, there were hardly any spectators in the stands or grounds in the matches I have just seen on television in Australia.
However, (A) the squads have a relatively wide range of international players from most countries (albeit hardly any from India?); and (B) some international companies/sponsors and media representatives in support; and even some dancing girls of fair-skin-and-whatever popping up now & then (albeit less prominently than in other venues).
To underline the POWER within this contest, let me refer to some of the international stars adorning the present set of matches, while noting that some of them fetched bids of over 50,000$ (without quite knowing to whose pockets the money lands in): viz. Rilee Rossouw (60,000$); Mujeeb M Rahman, Gurbaz, Jason Behrendorf, Hazmatullah Zazai (each 50,000$). But, lo and behold, these figures were exceeded by two locals, one a young warrior and another a more conventional paceman: young Matheesha Pathirana attracted 120,000$ from the Colombo Strikers and the aging Isuru Udana 70,000$ from the Galle Marvels.
Be that as it may, the present line-up of teams is as follows Colombo Strikers; Galle Marvels; Jaffna Kings; Dambulla Aura (Strikers); Kandy Falcons (aka “B-Love Kandy”). The basic issue here is: who runs each of these enterprises and what sort of business interests do they have in Sri Lanka and the world? This inquiry is now addressed to the world at large (and your communications can be deployed without divulging your names good folk).
The tournament has been scheduled from 1 July to circa 18 July and is already well-advanced; …. With the Jaffna Kings heading the table after three wins from 4 matches and the Colombo Strikers nipping at their heels with two wins from three games.
TOPSHOT – Spectators gather in various vantage points as they watch play during the second Twenty20 international cricket match between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium in Dambulla, on February 19, 2024. (Photo by Ishara S. KODIKARA / AFP) (Photo by ISHARA S. KODIKARA/AFP via Getty Images)
THE PAPARE has provided a useful description of the tournament (web-ref is below):
“Former Sri Lanka white-ball Skipper Dasun Shanaka also managed to rack up the big bucks as the defending champions B-Love Kandy signed him for USD 85,000. The left-arm seamer Binura Fernando and the off-spinning all-rounder Dhananjaya de Silva were bought by Colombo Strikers and Jaffna Kings for USD 55,000 and USD 50,000 respectively. Afghanistan all-rounder Karim Janat was sold to Dambulla Thunders for USD 80,000, becoming the highest foreign bid at the auction. Jaffna Kings managed to secure the services of the South African dashing left-hander Rilee Rossouw for USD 60,000. Pakistan batter Iftikhar Ahmad (Dambulla Thunders), Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Galle Marvels) and Afghanistan explosive batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Colombo Strikers) were sold at the price of USD 50,000 in the auction.”
IF someone can tell me and the world what these sums mean and how much (what proportion) of the cash-bid ends up in a player’s pocket or bank account, I … and the world …will be grateful.
| JK
|
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0.516 | L
W W W |
vs KAF, CLS, KAF | 783/79.4 | 745/80.0 | ||||||||
| 2
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0.767 | W
L W |
vs DAS, JK, JK | 569/60.0 | 523/60.0 | ||||||||
| 3
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0.033 | W
W L |
vs KAF, DAS, KAF | 545/60.0 | 540/59.4 | ||||||||
| 4
|
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -0.408 | W
L L |
vs GAM, JK, GAM | 527/57.2 | 576/60.0 | ||||||||
| 5
|
3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -1.130 | L
L L |
vs CLS, GAM, GAM | 558/60.0 | 598/57.2 | ||||||||
Standings are updated with the completion of each game