Lanka Premier League 2025 Set for November–December, Sixth Team in the Works

The sixth edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) will be held from November 27 to December 23, 2025. Matches will be played in three cities across Sri Lanka Colombo, Kandy, and Dambulla. This will be the fourth time in six years that the Lanka Premier League (LPL) is being held in the November-December period instead of its usual July-August slot. While the last two seasons were played in July and August, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) decided to shift it this year. With the 2026 T20 World Cup coming up in February, they felt the later part of the year would work better for their plans.

LPL tournament director Samantha Dodanwela said, "The idea to conduct the LPL during this time frame is aimed at aligning the tournament with the ICC men's T20 World Cup 2026."

LPL 2025: Plans Underway to Introduce Sixth Team in Lanka Premier League

According to ESPNcricinfo, talks are currently underway to include a sixth team in the tournament. So far, the first five seasons have featured five teams, each representing a city, Colombo, Galle, Kandy, Dambulla, and Jaffna.

"Potential owners for a sixth team are currently being vetted," Dodanwela confirmed.

Adding a sixth team to the league has been talked about for a long time, but Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has been careful about bringing in new owners and that’s understandable. The Lanka Premier League (LPL) has had trouble keeping stable team owners over the years.

LPL 2025: LPL Left Without Longstanding Team Owners After Terminations

Earlier this year, Jaffna Kings formerly the longest-standing franchise, having joined in the tournament's second edition and Colombo Strikers were terminated by SLC for "failure to uphold contractual obligations."

As a result, the LPL currently has no franchise owners with a history stretching back beyond 2024. New owners for both the Jaffna and Colombo teams are yet to be announced.

Sri Lanka Cricket Aims to Create More Batting-Friendly Pitches Ahead of T20 World Cup

Dodanwela said that Sri Lanka Cricket wants to make pitches that are better for batting. The idea is to help players get used to the kind of conditions they will face during the T20 World Cup, which will be held in India and Sri Lanka.

"We were quite happy with the wickets during the last edition, particularly in Dambulla and Kandy. We saw lots of high scores and even some centuries during that portion of the tournament. It was only in Colombo where batting was a little harder," Dodanwela noted.

Supporting Dodanwela's view is the fact that the pitches at R. Premadasa Stadium are currently being redone. A few national players, including Charith Asalanka and Dhananjaya de Silva, have also recently spoken out, saying there should be better pitches that help batters more.

LPL Winners and Runners-up List (2020 – 2024)

Edition	Year	Winner	Won By	Runners-up	Host
5th	2024	Jaffna Kings	9 Wickets	Galle Marvels	Colombo
4th	2023	B-Love Kandy	5 Wickets	Dambulla Aura	Sri Lanka
3rd	2022	Jaffna Kings	2 Wickets	Colombo Stars	Sri Lanka
2nd	2021	Jaffna Kings	23 Runs	Galle Gladiators	Sri Lanka
1st	2020	Jaffna Stallions	53 Runs	Galle Gladiators	Sri Lanka

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