Sri Lankan cricket authorities moved away from a stunning decision to impose a social media followers criteria on players to be recruited in the upcoming Lanka Premier League (LPL) T20 tournament.
Over the weekend, LPL organisers released guidelines for the player draft for the T20 league which will take place from July 17 to August 8.
According to the guidelines, marquee names for the top salary category needed to meet a number of requirements, namely experience in international matches and T20 leagues.
However, also included was a benchmark for social media followers. According to the guidelines, 'Icon' and 'Star' category players were expected to have “a large fan base and commercial appeal,” with a social media following of over 250,000. Gold category players were expected to have 150,000 followers.
The top players in LPL stand to earn a maximum of $80,000.
The guidelines did not go down well with fans and cricket experts. On Saturday, Sri Lanka cricket board released a new player registration and draft guide which did not include any benchmark for social media followers.
It was the first instance of social media following being considered as a criteria for player selection in a major cricket league.
The Sri Lankan T20 league has a had a troubled history. It began in 2012 but was discontinued owing to financial issues. A plan to revive the tournament failed in 2018 before the current version of the league started in 2020.
This year, the LPL will face another big challenge in the form of the Hundred competition in the UK, which will run from July 21 to August 16. The Hundred tournament will see new franchise ownership take control for the first time and will have many marquee T20 names, which could make it difficult for the LPL to attract the best players in the world.
The LPL did not take place last year as Sri Lanka focused on preparations for the T20 World Cup which it hosted earlier this year along with India.
