Best playing XI of Lankan Premier League 2023 ft. Babar Azam & Wanindu Hasaranga

The Lankan Premier League (LPL) 2023 culminated on Sunday, August 20. It was the fourth edition of the tournament, with B-Love Kandy winning the competition when they beat Dambulla Aura in a last-over thriller by five wickets at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

After opting to bat first, Dambulla posted a first-innings total of 147/4 in their 20 overs. The chase should not have been much of a problem for Kandy, but the nerves of a final got to them, as none of their batters, who scored over 20 runs, scored at a 120+ strike rate.

Angelo Matthews, who was captaining the side in the absence of Wanindu Hasaranga, led from the front and fought till the end. His 25-run knock proved highly crucial, as Kandy got home with only one ball to spare.

The final wrapped up what was a terrific fourth season of the LPL. The tournament saw nerve-racking moments and nail-biting clashes throughout the campaign. A few standout performances will also linger on in people's minds while there were runs and wickets galore all the way through.

On that note, let's take a look at our best playing XI from the recently concluded Lankan Premier League 2023, which was played between July 30 and August 20, 2023.

---

Top-order: Babar Azam, Avishka Fernando and Dinesh Chandimal (wk)

Babar Azam in action for Colombo Strikers [Getty Images]

Babar Azam and Avishka Fernando will open the batting of this team. While Babar's team, Colombo Strikers, ended up with the wooden spoon, Fernando's Dambulla Aura went to the final.

Although Babar's campaign suffered a blip in the latter stages of the tournament, he ended up as the second-highest run-getter with 261 runs at an average of 32.62.

The Pakistani skipper also had the only hundred of the campaign when he scored 104 runs against Galle Titans.

Fernando, meanwhile, ended fourth on the run-scoring charts, having amassed 244 runs at an average of 27.11 across 10 innings. He was aggressive at the top of the order for Dambulla, playing a key role in their run to the final. Fernando also hammered 14 sixes this season, the joint-most by any player in the league.

First-time LPL winner on the list, Dinesh Chandimal, bats at No. 3 for this team. He made some crucial contributions for his team, Kandy, this term, smashing 259 runs at an average of 25.90.

---

Middle-order: Sadeera Samarawickrama and Tim Siefert

Sadeera Samarawickrama of Dambulla Aura [Getty]

Sadeera Samarawickrama and Tim Siefert will form the middle-order of this Best XI. Both the batters played at a number of positions for their team and largely did well in whatever role was given to them.

Samarawickrama, who was adjudged the Player of the Tournament in the last edition, followed it up with another great LPL 2023 campaign. For his new franchise, Dambulla Aura, the 27-year-old scored 234 runs at a strike rate of 123.80. Remarkably, he failed to reach double digits only once in the 10 innings he played in.

It was a toss-up between Lasith Croospulle and Tim Siefert for the No. 5 spot. However, we have gone with Siefert on the sheer basis of his impact for the Galle Titans.

Despite playing just seven times in the tournament, Siefert notched up three fifties, the most by any batter in the league. He ended up scoring 231 runs at a strike rate of 133.53.

---

All-rounders: Dhananjaya de Silva and Wanindu Hasaranga (C)

Wanindu Hasaranga had a terrific LPL 2023 [Getty]

Star Sri Lankan players Dhananjaya de Silva and Wanindu Hasaranga will be the two all-rounders in this XI.

While it wasn't the best-ever season for Dhananjaya, he certainly did chip in with important contributions. With the bat, he amassed 192 runs at a decent strike rate of just below 129.

However, with the ball, he proved to be very consistent, claiming 10 wickets at an economy rate of just under seven.

At No. 7 is none other than Wanindu Hasaranga, who was undoubtedly the best player of this year's LPL. Ironically, he started his campaign on a sedate note, claiming just one wicket and scoring only 18 runs in the first three matches.

However, after he decided to float himself in the batting order, there was no stopping Hasaranga. His phenomenal hitting saw him amass a total of 279 runs (the most in the tournament). The 26-year-old smashed his runs at a strike rate of 189.79, which is the best among all the batters.

With the ball, the leg-spinner wreaked havoc as only once he went wicketless in his last seven outings. He also ended up as the highest wicket-taker of the tournament with 19 scalps at an average of 10.74 across 10 innings.

This was certainly one of the best performances by a player in a T20 league ever.

---

Bowlers: Noor Ahmed, Matheesha Pathirana, Nuwan Thushara, and Nuwan Pradeep

Matheesha Pathirana doing his usual celebration after a wicket at the LPL.[Getty]

The bowling unit of this team will consist of Noor Ahmed, Matheesha Pathirana, Nuwan Thushara, and Nuwan Pradeep.

Noor Ahmed was the second-most successful spinner after Hasaranga, with 12 wickets at an economy rate of 7.09 in the tournament. His three-wicket haul almost turned the match in his side's favor in the final against B-Love Kandy.

Pathirana also took 12 wickets for his side, the Colombo Strikers. While he still comes out as erratic in his line and length, the slingy pacer is still only 20 years old and has a lot of time to improve on his skills.

Nuwan Thushara and Nuwan Pradeep are the two remaining pacers in the XI. Both bowled phenomenally well, especially at the death.

While Thushara claimed 11 wickets across seven innings, Pradeep showcased that at 36 years of age he's still got plenty left in the tank and took 14 wickets.