Mumbai, Aug 8: Utility vehicle major Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) Wednesday announced its partnership with the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) cricket tournament as their title sponsors.
SLPL kicks off Aug 11 and will be played over three weeks at two venues - Colombo and Kandy.
The inaugural edition will feature seven provincial teams in a round-robin league format, with the winners having the distinction of playing in the Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20) as one of the qualifying teams.
"Since the Mahindra brand is a household name in Sri Lanka, we believe it is the perfect platform to take the message of SLPL, said Upali Dharmadasa, president of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).
West Indian batsman Chris Gayle and Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi will feature in the league along with Pakistani off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, Australians Brad Hodge and Dirk Nannes, Tamim Iqbal from Bangladesh and West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul.
Jacob Oram and Scott Styris from New Zealand are some of the other major players who will star in the inaugural edition which will also see Sri Lanka's big guns -- Muttiah Muralitharan, Mahela Jayawardene and Lasith Malinga.
There will be 24 games in the SLPL. Each team will be allowed a maximum of 18 players. The teams will be allowed to field a maximum of four foreign players per game with the remaining being local players.
© IANS
