Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has announced that the 2025 edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) will not take place this year as initially scheduled.
The decision, SLC said, was made after careful consideration of the need to prioritize preparations for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, which Sri Lanka will co-host with India in February–March 2026.
According to the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) hosting guidelines, all venues must meet strict international standards and be in top condition to accommodate the 20-team global event.
“In order to ensure full readiness of facilities for the T20 World Cup, we have decided to shift the 2025 edition of the LPL to a more suitable window,” SLC said in a statement. “This will allow us to focus entirely on enhancing and upgrading venue infrastructure to successfully host the tournament.”
The upgrades will include improvements to spectator stands, modernization of player facilities such as dressing rooms and training areas, refurbishment of international broadcast infrastructure, and the enhancement of media centers to cater to global media coverage requirements.
Currently, development work is underway at three international venues across the country. Among them, the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium (RPICS) in Colombo—one of the designated venues—had temporarily paused its renovations to host 11 matches of the ongoing ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025. Renovation work at the RPICS will resume immediately after the completion of those fixtures.
SLC emphasized that these efforts aim to deliver world-class facilities and ensure that Sri Lanka is fully prepared to co-host one of cricket’s most prestigious tournaments.
