LPL 2025 set for November-December return, SLC set to add sixth franchise

The Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2025 will be held from November 27 to December 23. Now in its sixth edition, the tournament will take place across three venues - Colombo, Kandy and Dambulla.

This will be the fourth time in six years that the LPL is scheduled for the November-December window rather than its preferred July-August slot. The last two seasons took place during July and August, however this year, with the 2026 T20 World Cup set to begin in February, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) felt the later window better suited their needs.

"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 tournament director Samantha Dodanwela said.

ESPNcricinfo also learnt that talks are underway to incorporate a sixth team into the tournament. The first five editions saw five teams representing Colombo, Galle, Kandy, Dambulla and Jaffna compete.

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

The inclusion of a sixth team has long been discussed, though SLC's cautious approach to introducing new ownership might be understandable. The LPL has struggled with long-term franchise ownership over the years.

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.

Dodanwela also elaborated on SLC's desire to curate more batting-friendly surfaces, with a view to better prepare players for the kind of wickets they are likely to play on during the T20 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.

"We were quite happy with the wickets during the last edition, particularly in Dambulla and Kandy," Dodanwela noted. "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."

Backing up Dodanwela's assessment is the fact that the pitches at the R Premadasa Stadium are currently in the process of being relaid. Several national players, such as Charith Asalanka and Dhananjaya de Silva, also recently voiced the need for more batting-friendly surfaces.