Eight Sri Lankans in action at Indian Premier League
The 18th Indian Premier League (IPL), which has been attracting attention from the cricket community around the world, is scheduled to begin today (22nd) at Eden Gardens in Kolkata and will conclude with the grand final on May 25 at the same venue. Key players from around the globe will take part in this tournament, including eight talented Sri Lankans.The teams participating in this tournament are Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Punjab Kings, Mumbai Indians, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Gujarat Titans, Delhi Capitals, and Lucknow Super Giants. Over the course of 62 days, matches will be held in 13 stadiums.
Looking back at the history of the IPL, out of the 17 tournaments played so far, Chennai Super Kings have won the championship the most times, claiming the title on five occasions. The Mumbai Indians have won it four times, while the Kolkata Knight Riders have lifted the trophy three times.
The team that wins this tournament will be awarded a prize of $2.32 million (nearly 700 million Sri Lankan rupees), while the runner-up will receive $1.50 million (approximately 450 million rupees). The third-place team will be awarded $810,800 (about 250 million rupees), and the fourth -place team will receive $752,894 (around 230 million rupees).
This time, steps have been taken to provide $350,000 to the teams that finish in fifth and sixth place, $140,000 each to the teams in seventh and eighth place, and $125,000 to each team for participation.Meanwhile, 8 Sri Lankan players, including the newly-joined Dasun Shanaka, have qualified for this tournament, and the highest value, nearly 450 million Sri Lankan rupees, has been received by Matheesha Pathirana, representing the Chennai Super Kings team.
Wanindu Hasaranga, representing the Rajasthan Royals team, has received nearly 180 million Sri Lankan rupees, and Maheesh Theekshana, representing the same team, has received about 150 million Sri Lankan rupees.It is also noteworthy that Nuwan Thushara of the Royal Challengers Bangalore team received 5.5 crores in Sri Lankan money, Eshan Malinga of the Sunrisers Hyderabad team received about 4 crores, Kamindu Mendis of the Sunrisers Hyderabad team and Dushmantha Chameera of the Delhi Capitals team received 2.5 crores each.
Dasun Shanaka finally got the opportunity to represent the Delhi Capitals team in place of Harry Brooke, who is banned from the IPL for two years.
Meanwhile, in the IPL The highest value ever paid to a player in cricket history, namely 940 million Sri Lankan rupees, was acquired by Indian batsman Rishabh Pant (Lucknow Super Giants), while Indian Shreyas Iyer was also sold for nearly 930 million Sri Lankan rupees.As the tournament commences today (22nd), the Kolkata Knight Riders will clash with the Royal Challengers Bangalore, and Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Nuwan Thushara may get the chance to play in this opening match.
