The 2020 Lanka Premier League is also known as the My11Circle LPL T20 for sponsorship reasons. It is the inaugural edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) Twenty20 franchise cricket tournament in Sri Lanka. Five teams based in different Sri Lanka cities will play in 23 matches. It was originally scheduled to launch in August but has been redesigned several times due to limitations for the COVID-19 epidemic. The tournament kicked off with a grand opening ceremony on November 26 at 8.00 pm local time at the Sooriyawewa International Cricket Stadium, Hambantota.
The first match of the tournament was played between Angelo Mathews’ Colombo Kings and Kusal Janith’s Kandy Tuskers. The Colombo Kings have won that match. The 15-day tournament is expected to end on December 16. There will be 20 preliminary round matches in which each team will have to play 8 matches. The top four teams in the bonus points table advance to the semi-finals. There are 5 teams competing in this tournament and they are,
- Colombo Kings
- Dambulla Viiking
- Galle Gladiators
- Jaffna stallions
- Kandy Tuskers
Initially, the matches were to be played in Kandy, Dambulla, and Hambantota. The possibility of taking the tournament to Malaysia or the United Arab Emirates was once considered to avoid a 14-day quarantine. Finally, health officials agreed to reduce the quarantine period for foreign athletes from 14 days to 7 days. All 23 matches will be held in Hambantota at the request of health officials. In November 2020, My11Circle, an Indian fantasy cricket league platform, was nominated as the main sponsor of the tournament with a bid of Rs. 150 million.
