No Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) representative was invited to the ICC’s quarterly meeting in Ahmedabad over the weekend, but the fact that the ICC board has not slapped sanctions on SLC’s new Transformation Committee is being quietly celebrated by the new board in Sri Lanka,  a board member said.

The Transformation Committee was appointed by the nation’s government in May, replacing the elected set of SLC office-bearers. The ICC had taken a dim view of government interference in SLC in 2023, as well as in 2015, imposing sanctions on each of those occasions.

In an attempt to reduce the impact of bad light on Test matches, the ICC has approved a trial of switching from a red ball to a pink ball before the start of a Test that is likely to be affected by bad light, subject to the prior agreement of both participating teams.*

The decision was one of several recommendations from the Chief Executives Committee that were approved by the ICC Board at a meeting in Ahmedabad on Sunday. Until now pink balls were used exclusively in day-night Test matches, which are also regularly played largely in Australia and no where else, but the trial of changing from a red ball to a pink ball during a day Test seeks to allow play to continue under lights and minimise the time and overs lost to bad light.

It is understood that the process for the playing conditions to take effect won’t be in place in time for the series between England and New Zealand from June 4. The ICC also said it would undertake research “on lighting technology for match officials and venues to reduce lost play due to poor light, with ICC co-funding R&D projects alongside Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC).”

The ICC board also approved a recommendation that will allow head coaches – or designated staff – to enter the field of play during scheduled drinks intervals and consult with their players in ODIs and T20Is. This was not permitted in international cricket – messages could only be relayed by the players running drinks – but has been a feature in franchise T20 leagues like the IPL, where coaches interact with their players during strategic timeouts.

Sachin Tendulkar may not be a fan of them, but impact subs are making their way into the Lanka Premier League,  as is a stipulation that an Under-23 player (one born on or after July 1, 2003) has to be a part of each side’s playing XI at all times – even after the use of an impact sub. These were two key elements playing on the minds of the five franchises as the LPL draft 2026 took place on Monday in Colombo.

Both these changes ensured that squad composition – right from the four pre-signings to the 16-18 players drafted on the night – had to be fairly well thought out, with teams needing to decide which roles to entrust to a largely unproven talent while simultaneously balancing their squads for maximum impact. Complicating matters further was the relative dearth in the Under-23 category, with many of Sri Lanka’s Under-19 talents due to play India in July and thus unavailable for the tournament.

It was also revealed that Pathum Nissanka and Matheesha Pathirana are both nursing injuries, despite the former being named in the touring party for the West Indies. It is understood that his workload is being managed, with the player expected to undergo surgery in order to be fit for India’s tour of Sri Lanka later this year.

In terms of the teams, four of the five sides revealed new owners and coaching staff, with fresh team names to go with them. Only the Dambulla Sixers remained unchanged – though they had gone through a tumultuous period in 2024, with two changes in ownership prior to the start of the season. Jaffna are now the SC Jaffna Kings, Galle are the Galle Gallants, Kandy the Kandy Royals and Colombo the Colombo Kaps.

The draft itself concluded in a little under four hours, with each team tasked with drafting squads of at least 18 players, with the option of two additional signings at the end. In total there were 14 mandatory rounds of drafting, with two optional rounds for the teams that decided to participate.

Players were split into three categories – Platinum (US$ 50,000), Gold ($30,000), Classic ($20,000) – with each having a separate category for local and foreign players. There were also categories for Associate ($15,000) and Emerging Under-23 ($10,000) players.

Vijay Shankar the recently retired Indian national, IPL breakout star Eshan Malinga, fiery Pakistan opener Sahibzada Farhan, and the experienced pair of Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal were some of the notable pre-signings, while Avishka Fernando and Charith Asalanka were both first-round picks despite neither able to find a place in the Sri Lankan T20 squad. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Mohammed Nawaz headlined the overseas picks.

The final squads are as follows:

SC Jaffna Kings: Taskin Ahmed, Dunith Wellalage, Shakib Al Hasan, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Avishka Fernando, David Wiese, Dilshan Madushanka, Kamil Mishara, Traveen Mathews, Ibrahim Zadran, Mohommed Shiraz, Chamindu Wickramasinghe, Nuwanidu Fernando, Sandeep Lamichhane, Lizaad Williams, Dipendra Airee, Kugathas Mathulan, Praveen Manisha, Nishan Madushka

Colombo Kaps: Ben McDermott, Kamindu Mendis, Jimmy Neesham, Kusal Mendis, Binura Fernando, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Milan Ratnayake, Janith Liyanage, Shahnawaz Dahani, Jeffrey Vandersay, Thanuka Dabare, Movin Subasingha, Mohammed Haris, Hasan Mahmud, Kushal Bhurtel, Malsha Tharupathi, Sharujan Shanmuganathan, Wanuja Sahan, Anthony Pragasam

Kandy Royals: Vijay Shankar, Angelo Mathews, Moeen Ali, Wanindu Hasaranga, Nuwan Thushara, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Kusal Perera, Asitha Fernando, Garuka Sanketh, Daniel Sams, Vishen Halambage, Muditha Lakshan, Lahiru Udara, Dale Phillips, Zahir Khan, Brandon McMullen, Sahan Mihira, Pawan Sandesh, Dushan Hemantha, Isitha Wijesundera

Galle Gallants: Litton Das, Eshan Malinga, Rassie Van Der Dussen, Dasun Shanaka, Charith Asalanka, Mohammad Nawaz, Pramod Madushan, Lasith Croospulle, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Akif Javed, Sahan Arachchige, Chamika Karunaratne, Tharindu Rathnayake, Sam Harper, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Haider Ali, Dinura Kalupahana, Uri Koththigoda, Kasun Rajitha, Sachindu Colombage

Dambulla Sixers: Reeza Hendricks, Dinesh Chandimal, Sahibzada Farhan, Dushmantha Chameera, Maheesh Theekshana, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Niroshan Dickwella, Pavan Rathnayake, Akila Dananjaya, Mohammed Wasim, Dhananjaya Lakshan, Ramesh Mendis, Sachitha Jayatilake, Gulbadin Naib, Dian Forrester, Shadley Schalkwyk, Vishva Kumara, Gayana Weerasinghe

Pre-signings:

SC Jaffna Kings – Taskin Ahmed, Dunith Wellalage, Shakib Al Hasan, Bhanuka Rajapaksa

Galle Gallants – Litton Das, Eshan Malinga, Rassie Van Der Dussen, Dasun Shanaka

Kandy Royals – Vijay Shankar, Angelo Mathews, Moeen Ali, Wanindu Hasaranga

Colombo Kaps – Ben McDermott, Kamindu Mendis, Jimmy Neesham, Kusal Mendis

Dambulla Sixers – Reeza Hendricks, Dinesh Chandimal, Sahibzada Farhan, Dushmantha Chameera

[Cricinfo]