Senior England players, including captain Nat Sciver Brunt, will be allowed to miss a three-match T20I series in Sri Lanka if their franchises qualify for the final stages of WPL 2027 in India.

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) announced dates for England’s tour on Wednesday, with the three T20Is in Pallekele scheduled from February 1 to 5 acting as preparation for the inaugural Women’s T20 Champions Trophy, which runs from February 14 to 28 in India. England will then return to Sri Lanka for three ODIs in Dambulla from March 4 to 8.

The WPL runs from January 14 to February 7, and Cricinfo has learned that the ECB will allow England players to fulfil their franchise commitments even if it means missing the Sri  Lanka T20Is. The approach is recognition that the WPL playoffs will provide players with good preparation for the Champions Trophy through high-stakes games in relevant conditions.

By Shamindra Ferdinando

The use of low quality coal, over a period of time, had led to the developing crisis at the Lakvijaya Coal Power Plant (LVPP) at Norochcholai that compelled the boastful NPP government to implement power cuts, former Lanka Electricity Company (Private) Limited (LECO) Chairman Bandula Chandrasekera said yesterday.

The government imposed one-hour countrywide power cuts on 19 Oct.

Chandrasekera, now a consumer rights activist, warned that though the government declared the power cuts would be limited to three days, the situation could take a turn for the worse.

The top United Republican Front (URF) activist said so in response to the government’s claim that Saturday’s sudden drop in electricity generation at the country’s only coal-fired power plant hadn’t been caused by the quality issue of coal.

The former LEOCO Chief emphasised that the country was paying a very heavy price for the controversial procurement of low-quality coal for the 2025/2026 season.

“Procurement of low quality coal is not an allegation. It has been accepted by a seven-member committee, headed by K. L. R. C. Wijayasinghe, Additional Secretary, Energy Ministry, appointed by Parliament,” Chandrasekera said, pointing out that the government was trying to mislead the public into believing that the use of coal supplied by Trident Chemphar wasn’t the cause of the current power crisis.

The expert committee that investigated the coal scam had disclosed losses caused by substandard coal, Chandrasekera said, adding that the total losses/damages could be as much as Rs 20 bn.

Trouble erupted in Dec, 2025 when LVPP began using coal purchased from the new supplier, whose selection was challenged by the Auditor General in a special report submitted to Parliament, in April this year, he said.

Since the government entered into a deal with the Indian company, LVPP has so far received 19 ship loads of coal. An investigation conducted on the orders of the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) revealed that the use of low-quality coal had had a detrimental impact on the LVPP.

The Frontline Socialist Party (FSP) exposed the corrupt deal in Sept. 2025. The NPP run Parliament ignored the disclosure made by the JVP breakaway faction.

Chandrasekera said that the Committee asserted that it would cost approximately Rs 80 mn to restore the LVPP to the previous status. Responding to The Island queries, Chandrasekera emphasised the country couldn’t meet the power requirement unless the LVPP operates without hindrance. Those who had been, for whatever reason, switched to South African coal provided by the Indian supplier should be held accountable and punished, Chandrasekera said, recalling how the NPP parliamentary group defeated the no-confidence motion moved against the then Power Minister Kumara Jayakody, who later quit, as the enormity of the scam and its repercussions shook the government.

Chandrasekera said that the government couldn’t maintain services though the powers that be intended to meet the power deficit with the help of hydropower generated by the Victoria power station. The ex-official underscored the need to inquire into the failure of the authorities to implement the backup plan last Saturday. Had Victoria met the requirement, last Saturday’s countrywide power failure, that lasted from 11.43 am to 11 pm could have been averted, Chandrasekera said.

He also questioned the controversial government decision to disconnect solar power over the weekend as the absence of solar generation obviously aggravated the problem. Chandrasekera emphasised that the latest countrywide power outage exposed the government whose basic strategy was to blame everything on the Opposition.

“We sincerely hope the Presidential Commission inquiring into the coal scams also looks into the situation developing at LVPP due to the use of substandard coal. According to him, the loss caused by the recent outage was estimated to be around Rs 16 bn and the crisis could not be addressed by propaganda campaigns, especially on social media. But, if other factors, including the expenditure on hydro and thermal generation were taken into consideration, the losses could be as much as Rs 20 bn.

Power cuts continued across the country yesterday and are expected to continue today following the shutdown of all three generating units at the Lakvijaya Power Plant in Norochcholai.

The Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) said approval had been granted on Monday (19) following a request by the National System Operator (NSO) to impose scheduled power cuts.

Accordingly, one-hour power cuts were scheduled between 4.30 p.m. and 9.00 p.m., with the country divided into four zones. Hospitals and locations providing essential services were exempted.

The three Norochcholai generating units remain out of operation following the countrywide power failure last Saturday, prompting the NSO to introduce daily power cuts to manage the available electricity supply.

NSO Chief Executive Officer Buddhika Samarasekara said the power cuts would be necessary yesterday and today (21).