Medium pacer Nuwan Thushara is among 46 men’s cricketers awarded national contracts by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), after he withdrew the legal case he had filed against the board in April.

Thushara’s inclusion indicates a re-setting of his relationship with the board. The bowler had objected to SLC making a fitness test a requirement for the board granting him a No-Objection Certificate to play franchise cricket overseas. But since the board members whom he had been at a loggerheads with were ousted en-masse by the Sri Lankan government, Thushara decided to withdraw his case.

He had then written to the new administrators at SLC, announcing his eligibility for national selection, which the new Transformation Committee has since accepted.

Also in the contracts list are Jaffna legspinner Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, ambidextrous spinner Tharindu Rathnayake, batters Kamil Mishara and Lasith Croosepulle,and allrounders Isitha Wijesundera, Wanuja Sahan and Dilum Sudeera, who have all been included for the first time. Batter Bhanuka Rajapaksa was not awarded a contract, though he had played domestic cricket in Sri Lanka earlier this year.

There are otherwise no major surprises in what is a substantial roll of cricketers. The list features players such as Dinesh Chandimal and Kasun Rajitha, who primarily play Tests, as well as limited-overs specialists like Binura Fernando.

The SLC release said the players had been graded into six different categories, but did not divulge which players were in which category. The period of the contract runs from April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027.

Men’s national contracted players

Kusal Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dinesh Chandimal, Wanindu Hasaranga, Pathum Nissanka, Charith Asalanka, Kamindu Mendis, Dushmantha Chameera, Asitha Fernando, Dasun Shanaka, Maheesh Theekshana, Janith Liyanage, Dunith Wellalage, Niroshan Dickwella, Jeffrey Vandersay, Prabath Jayasuriya, Vishwa Fernando, Matheesha Pathirana, Dilshan Madushanka, Pavan Rathnayake, Eshan Malinga, Milan Rathnayake, Lahiru Kumara, Kasun Rajitha, Avishka Fernando, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Ramesh Mendis, Kamil Mishara, Binura Fernando, Nuwan Thushara, Sonal Dinusha, Sahan Arachchige, Pramod Madushan, Lasith Croospulle, Lahiru Udara, Nuwanidu Fernando, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Isitha Wijesundara, Nishan Madushka, Akila Dananjaya, Chamika Karunaratne, Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Mohammed Shiraz, Wanuja Sahan, Dilum Sudeera, Tharindu Rathnayake

[Cricinfo]

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.

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]