Kandy Kings emerged champions of the Sri Lanka Tennis Premier League 2026, defeating Jaffna Flamingos in an exciting final at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association courts.

‎The four-day tournament, held from August 27 to 30, was title sponsored by CL Synergy Power and powered by Wilson.

‎Kandy Kings secured the championship with a 35-26 points victory over Jaffna Flamingos in the final, with several closely contested matches deciding the outcome of the inaugural league-style competition.

‎Savini Jayasuriya gave Kandy Kings an early advantage when she defeated Janali Manamperi 7-5 in the opening singles encounter.

‎Jaffna Flamingos, however, hit back in the second singles match through Pakistan’s No. 1 national player Muzammil Murtaza, who overcame Sri Lanka’s No. 1 national player Thehan Wijemanna 6-4 in one of the most anticipated matches of the final.

‎Kandy Kings regained momentum in the girls’ Under-15 contest as Navya Banagala defeated Samaira Fernando 6-4.

‎The Kandy team further strengthened their position in the mixed doubles, where Mineth Nawarathne and Tuvini de Alwis overcame the Jaffna pairing of Aravind Fernando and Janali Manamperi.

‎The championship was eventually sealed in the deciding doubles encounter, with Sri Lanka’s top-ranked player Thehan Wijemanna joining Mineth Nawarathne to beat Aravind Fernando and Muzammil Murtaza 6-3, helping Kandy Kings complete a memorable triumph.

‎Several outstanding performers were recognised at the conclusion of the tournament. Yuhansa Peiris of Weligama Warriors was named the Most Valuable Women’s Player, while Jaffna Flamingos’ Muzammil Murtaza received the award for Most Valuable Men’s Player.

‎Navya Banagala of Kandy Kings was adjudged the Most Valuable Girls’ Player, while Damsath Peiris of Jaffna Flamingos won the Most Valuable Boys’ Player award.

‎Jaffna Flamingos’ Janali Manamperi was also presented with the Wilson Fair Play Award.

‎Kandy Kings finished the tournament as champions, while Jaffna Flamingos had to settle for the runners-up position after an impressive campaign that took them to the final.

The inaugural Women’s Champions Trophy, scheduled for February 2027, will be moved out of  Sri Lanka with the SLC set to be stripped of hosting rights. Cricinfo has confirmed that the six-team event will be played at a different venue in the same window, and it is likely to be held in India. The new hosts will be confirmed at the next ICC board meeting in October.

Sri Lanka have lost the right to stage the tournament, which was due to be their second ICC event in a year after they also co-hosted the 2026 men’s T20 World Cup, because of government interference in their board. The SLC has an interim administration, called the Transformation Committee, which was put in place by the Sri Lankan government and will oversee major board changes including to the constitution.

The ICC does not recognise politically appointed administrations and SLC representatives have not been at ICC board meetings since the Transformation Committee was put in place.

The change in venue could significantly impact the Sri Lanka side, who only qualified for the event by virtue of it being held in their country. The competition is limited to the top six teams on the ICC rankings and, as of the rankings update on Saturday, Sri Lanka are currently seventh. Australia, England, India, New Zealand and South Africa make up the top five. West Indies are sixth and would have originally missed out but if Sri Lanka do not qualify, then the Caribbean could sneak in.

This will be the second time in three years that Sri Lanka have lost out on an ICC event. In 2023, the 2024 men’s Under-19 World Cup was taken away from them  for the same reasons and moved to South Africa.

In any case, while the Transformation Committee is in charge, SLC’s electoral processes stand suspended. The Transformation Committee’s official task is to reform that very electoral system, and the Sri Lanka Cricket constitution in general. According to the country’s laws, this can only be done through parliament.

The Transformation Committee has said it has produced a fresh constitution which is expected to be taken up in parliament over the next few weeks. Members of that Transformation Committee told Cricinfo that it expects for SLC elections to take place before the end of 2026, so long as the parliamentary process runs smoothly.

(Cricinfo)

Sri Lanka began their Women’s Asia Cup campaign in emphatic fashion, cruising to a nine-wicket win over the UAE after bowling them out for just 79. Mithali Ayodhya and Chethana Vimukthi led the way with three wickets apiece, while Sugandika Kumari took two, before Chamari Athapaththu’s unbeaten 48 off 25 balls and Imesha Dulani’s 25 off 18 powered the defending champions to the target in just 7.5 overs. The victory, completed with 73 balls to spare, was Sri Lanka’s biggest in T20Is in terms of balls remaining.

‎Sri Lanka made an ideal start after opting to bowl, with Mithali Ayodhya striking in the fourth ball of the innings to bowl Theertha Satish for a duck. Chethana Vimukthi then joined in, bowling a disciplined spell and removing Lavanya Keny in the fourth over to leave UAE at 8 for 2. Esha Oza and Heena Hotchandani tried to rebuild, but scoring remained difficult, with Sri Lanka’s bowlers giving little away. Oza’s first boundary, which was also the first of the innings, did not come until the 4.1 over, and UAE reached only 16 for 2 at the end of the Powerplay.

‎The pressure continued after the field spread, and Oza was eventually dismissed for 18 off 24 by Sugandika Kumari. By the halfway stage, they had crawled to 31 for 3, having played out 37 dot balls. Hotchandani fell for 10 off 18 to Chamari Athapaththu soon after, and although Rinitha Rajith provided some impetus with 15 off 16, wickets kept falling around her. Samaira Dharnidharka made 17 off 25 before Kavisha Dilhari had her caught and bowled in the 15th over, and Rajith followed in the 19th over. Ayodhya then returned to remove the final two batters, bowling UAE out for under 80.

‎In contrast to the first innings, Sri Lanka made a flying start to the chase, with Dulani and Athapaththu dealing in regular boundaries. Dulani was particularly fluent, striking five fours in her 18-ball 25, while Athapaththu became the first to reach 500 runs in Women’s Asia Cups, with a six off Esha Oza in the fourth over.

‎‎The pair raised a half-century stand inside the Powerplay before Dulani was run out for 25 when a drive from Athapaththu ricocheted off the bowler and hit the stumps at the non-striker’s end. Athapaththu, though, continued the assault with Sanjana Kavindi for company. Having struck two boundaries off Athige Silva, she hit a six off Oza before finishing off the chase with a couple as Sri Lanka began their Asia Cup campaign with a facile win.

‎‎Brief scores:

‎UAE 79 in 19.5 overs (Esha Oza 18; Mithali Ayodhya 3-14, Chethana Vimukthi 3-16, Sugandika Kumari 2-18)

‎Sri Lanka 80/1 in 7.5 overs

(Chamari Athapaththu 48, Imesha Dulani 25) (Cricbuzz)