LPL 2022 to begin from August 1, Jaffna Kings to face Galle Gladiators in tournament opener

The third edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) will commence on August 01, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) announced on Tuesday. Of the 24 games in the tournament, 20 will be first-round matches, while the remaining four are knockout ones, including the final.

The tournament opener will be between the defending champions Jaffna Kings and Galle Gladiators, who lost in the final last year. Colombo will host the first 14 fixtures while the caravan moves to Hambantota on August 13, 2022.

Full schedule Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2022:

Date	Home	Away	Home	Away	Venue
1st August 2022	Jaffna	Galle	Colombo	Kandy	RPICS
2nd August 2022	Dambulla	Jaffna	Galle	Colombo	RPICS
4th August 2022	Kandy	Galle	Jaffna	Dambulla	RPICS
5th August 2022	Kandy	Colombo	Galle	Dambulla	RPICS
8th August 2022	Colombo	Dambulla	Galle	Jaffna	RPICS
9th August 2022	Kandy	Dambulla	Colombo	Dambulla	RPICS
10th August 2022	Kandy	Jaffna	Dambulla	Colombo	RPICS
13th August 2022	Galle	Kandy	Jaffna	Colombo	MRICS
15th August 2022	Dambulla	Galle	Jaffna	Kandy	MRICS
17th August 2022	Qualifier 1 (1 vs 2)	Eliminator (3 vs 4)	MRICS
19th August 2022		Qualifier 2 (Loser QF1 vs Winner of Eliminator)	MRICS
21st August 2022		Final	MRICS

Notably, Jaffna Kings have won both editions of the competition. Strikingly, Galle Gladiators have also reached the finals on two occasions and tasted convincing defeats. Captained by all-rounder Thisara Perera, Jaffna beat the opposition by 53 and 23 runs in 2020 and 2021, respectively, to clinch the title.

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Wanindu Hasaranga to lead Kandy Falcons in LPL 2022

Ahead of the third edition of the T20 competition, several local players have moved their bases in the draft, including Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera, Dhananjaya de Silva and Bhanuka Rajapaksa.

Premier leg-spinner Hasranga has been appointed as the skipper of the Kandy Falcons for the upcoming season. They have also roped in Sri Lankan opener Pathum Nissanka.

This year's LPL comes amid a packed home schedule for Sri Lanka's international players following the home series against Pakistan and Australia.

The second Test against Pakistan ends on August 28 in Colombo and will precede the Asia Cup, which will take place in September before the T20 World Cup. The marquee competition will take place in Australia in October-November.

Sri Lanka, who lifted their maiden T20 World Cup in 2014, will play the qualifiers of the competition. The other teams alongside Sri Lanka to play the qualifiers are the West Indies, Namibia, Scotland, Ireland, and the UAE.

Nevertheless, the 2014 T20 World Cup champions will be confident of qualifying for the main draw after their encouraging performance in the previous edition.