Ranjan Madugalle and Kumar Dharmasena who are part of the ICC Elite Panel of the Umpires, will be part of the highly anticipated inaugural edition of the Lanka Premier League. They will be joined by Graeme Labrooy and Wendell Labrooy who are also part of the ICC’s elite umpire panel to be on the umpires panel of the Lanka Premier League.
Ranjan Madugalle is a experienced umpire who has been referee in the important matches in the history of the game including finals of 1999, 2003, 2015 and 2019 World Cups. He is a great addition to the referee panel as he has umpired in Seven World cups till now, the LPL committee said in their official press release.
Manoj Mendis, who is a first class referee in the Sri Lankan domestic circuit is also part of this panel. Dharmasena who is a veteran umpire on the International level, also part of the elite panel of umpires having won the ICC David Shepherd Trophy for Umpire of the Year 2012 and 2018 will also be a great addition to the 11 member panel of Umpires.
Ruchira Palliyaguruge, Raveendra Wimalasiri, Lyndon Hannibal and Prageeth Rambukwella will also be part of the LPL. All these umpires are part of the ICC international panel of umpires. Deepal Gunawardena, Hemantha Botheju, Keerthi Bandara, Asanga Jayasuriya, Rohitha Kottahachchi, and Raveendra Kotta are the level 1 umpires in the Sri Lankan Domestic Circuit will also be part of the panel.
The tournament has already suffered few blows even before the first match has been played with star players like Lasith Malinga, Chris Gayle, Sarfaraz Ahmed and few other pulling out from the tournament due to personal reasons.
The first match will be played on 26th November between Colombo and Kandy at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium.