Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) will reportedly conduct fitness tests for some of its players who will play in the upcoming IPL season. They will issue NOC only after the fitness test is done.
The IPL 2026 season will mark the 19th edition of the competition, with ten franchises participating in the competition. Sri Lanka’s players have been battling fitness concerns since the T20 World Cup, as several key players were ruled out midway through the season.
Sri Lanka did not manage to reach the knockout stages of the competition as the players were dropped from the competition midway. Both Pathirana and Hasaranga were ruled out of the competition, while the other two were not part of the squad for the World Cup.
SLC to conduct pre-IPL fitness test for players
SLC will conduct fitness tests for some of its players in Colombo early this week. They will decide to issue No Objection Certificate only for their participation in the upcoming edition of IPL.
Many Sri Lankan players will be part of the Indian Premier League franchise in the upcoming edition. Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Capitals, Lucknow Super Giants and Royal Challengers Bangalore picked up several such players in the mini-auction or retained them after last season.
“Fitness tests are scheduled by SLC on Monday and Tuesday and we will know about their players only after that,” officials of several IPL franchises said.
However, Delhi Capitals’ Dushmantha Chameera and Pathum Nissanka and Kamindu Mendis of the Sunrisers Hyderabad camp are among the other Sri Lankan players who will be playing the season without a test from March 28.
Fitness scan of four Sri Lankan players will be done
At present, reports suggest that four players of the Sri Lankan team will have to undergo these tests and then receive NOC to participate in the upcoming IPL season.
These four players include former CSK fast bowler Mathisha Pathirana, who was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders for Rs 18 crore. Secondly, it also includes Wanindu Hasaranga from Lucknow Super Giants Camp. The participation of these players is under great uncertainty.
The other two names in this list include Ishan Malinga of Sunrisers Hyderabad and Nuwan Thusara of Royal Challengers Bangalore. The franchisee is confident that SLC will give NOC after the trials are successfully conducted.
Captain’s meet and shoot was finalized on 25th March.
The BCCI had recently confirmed that the annual captains and coaches meeting ahead of the upcoming season will be held on March 25. The meeting and shooting will take place between 12 noon and 6 pm on that day.
BCCI considered the proposal to advance the meeting by a day; However, the franchises were not ready for this. Hence, it was fixed for March 25. This meeting is held as the BCCI discusses the changes in the playing conditions and introduces new rules, if any, for the upcoming season for the participating franchises.
Last time, in the same meeting, the franchises were informed about decisions like change in ball and expansion of DRS rules.
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