News

Dilshan Madushanka creates history after becoming the most expensive buy at LPL Auction

Published

3 years ago

June 15, 2023

Editor

Left-arm paceman Dilshan Madushanka created history when he was sold as the highest bid for Jaffna Kings at the inaugural Lanka Premier League players Auction staged at Shangri-la hotel, yesterday.

An intense bidding war between Jaffna Kings and Galle Titans was seen for Dilshan Madushanka, with both teams bidding and counterbidding each. But it was clear that the three-time Champions Jaffna Kings wanted the 22-year-old at any cost and they succeeded when they eventually bought Madushanka for whopping 92,000 Dollars.

Among the other highlights picks at Auction was, Dananjaya de Silva who was the first player to be sold on the day for Dambulla Aura for 76,000 Dollars.

Dashing batter Charith Asalanka was also clearly in demand as a bidding war broke out for him as well. In the end, the star player was sold to Jaffna Kings for 80,000 Dollars.

The Auction, which had 51 rounds, focused on multiple talent options, such as batters, all-rounders, fast and spin bowlers, and wicketkeepers, with different segments for each criterion, such as capped batters, uncapped batters, etc.

Among the unsold list were some of the key players who are having experience in franchise cricket Tamim Iqbal (Bangladesh ), Paul Stirling (Ireland), Najibullah Zadran (Afghanistan), Carlos Brathwaite (West Indies), Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe), Imad Wasim (Pakistan), Mushfiqar Rahman and Litton Das (Bangladesh), Ben Mcdermott( Australia), Tim Serfit( New Zealand), Azam Khan ( Australia), Andrew Tye (Australia), Fazalhaq Farooqi (Afghanistan), Jasen Behrandorff (Australia), Zahir Khan (India), Imran Thahir (Pakistan) were in the unsold foreign players list while Sri test captain Dimuth Karunaratne, Leg spinner Prabath Jayasuriya, Ramesh Mendis and Shehan Jayasuriya who based in USA also among the unsold list.

The Five franchises were allowed to spend $500,000 at the auction.

Following are the players sold for five franchise teams yesterday.

Jaffna Kings:

Nishan Madushka (Sri Lanka) – US$ 10,000, Asanka Manoj (Sri Lanka) – US$ 5000, Theesan Vithusan (Sri Lanka) – US$ 5000, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth (Sri Lanka) – US$ 18,000, Pathum Kumara (Sri Lanka) – US$ 5000, Shoaib Malik (Pakistan) – US$ 50,000, Dunith Wellalage (Sri Lanka) – US$ 56,000, Charith Asalanka (Sri Lanka) – US$ 80,000, Asitha Fernando (Sri Lanka) – US$ 28,000, Hardus Viljoen (South Africa) – US$ 30,000, Nuwan Thushara (Sri Lanka) – US $ 30,000

B- Love Kandy

Kamindu Mendis (Sri Lanka) – US$ 60,000, Asif Ali (Pakistan) – US$ 30,000, Navod Paranavithana (Sri Lanka) – US$ 5,000, Mohammad Haris (Pakistan) – US$ 20,000, Ashen Bandara (Sri Lanka) – US$ 40,000, Sahan Arachchige (Sri Lanka) – US$ 28,000, Dushmantha Chameera (Sri Lanka) – US$ 70,000, Mohammad Hasnain (Pakistan) – US$ 34,000, Dinesh Chandimal (Sri Lanka) – US$ 72,000, Isuru Udana (Sri Lanka) – US$ 40,000, Chathuranga de Silva (Sri Lanka) – US$ 10,000, Nuwan Pradeep (Sri Lanka) – US$ 20,000, Lahiru Madushanka (Sri Lanka) – US $ 26,000.

Galle Titans

Sohan De Livera (Sri Lanka) – US$ 5,000, Mohammad Shiraz (Sri Lanka) – US$ 5000, Shevon Daniel (Sri Lanka) – US$ 22,000, Pasidu Sooriyabandara (Sri Lanka) – US$ 5,000, Minod Bhanuka (Sri Lanka) – US$ 20,000, Mohammad Mithun (Bangladesh) – US$ 20,000, Ben Cutting (Australia) – US$ 30,000, Ashan Priyanjana (Sri Lanka) – US$ 20,000, Sohan De Livera (Sri Lanka) – US$ 5,000, Lasith Croospulle (Sri Lanka) – US$ 20,000, Lahiru Kumara (Sri Lanka) – US$ 42,000, Seekuge Prasanna (Sri Lanka) – US$ 15,000, Kasun Rajitha (Sri Lanka) – US$ 40,000

Colombo Strikers

Lahiru Udara (Sri Lanka) – US$ 10,000, Dhananjaya Lakshan (Sri Lanka) – US$ 20,000, Angelo Perera (Sri Lanka) – US$ 20,000, Jeffrey Vandersay (Sri Lanka) – US$ 20,000, Lorcan Tucker (Ireland) – US$ 10,000, Iftikhar Ahmad (Pakistan) – US$ 50,000, Nuwanidu Fernabdo (Sri Lanka) – US$ 20,000, Shashika Dulshan (Sri Lanka) – US$ 6500, Eshan Malinga (Sri Lanka) – US$ 5000, Lahiru Udara (Sri Lanka) – US$ 10,000, Movin Subasinghe (Sri Lanka) – US$ 10,000, Nipun Dananjaya (Sri Lanka) – US$ 5000, Lakshan Sandakan (Sri Lanka) – US$ 30,000, Wahab Riaz (Pakistan) – US$ 40,000, Niroshan Dickwella (Sri Lanka) – US$ 44,000, Pathum Nissanka (Sri Lanka) – US$ 40,000.

Dambulla Aura

Pramod Madushan (Sri Lanka) – US$ 34,000, Dushan Hemantha (Sri Lanka) – US$ 20,000, Janith Liyanage (Sri Lanka) – US$ 10,000, Sachitha Jayathilaka (Sri Lanka) – US$ 5,000, Noor Ahmad (Afghanistan) – US$ 50,000, Binura Fernando (Sri Lanka) – US$ 76,000, Sadeera Samarawickrama (Sri Lanka) – US$ 68,000, Hayden Kerr (Australia) – US$ 20,000, Kusal Janith Perera (Sri Lanka) – US$ 40,000, Dhananjaya De Silva (Sri Lanka) – US$ 76,000, Lakshna Edirisinghe (Sri Lanka) – US$ 5,000, Shahnawaz Dahani (Pakistan) – US$ 20,000.

Dilshan Madushanka LPL වෙන්දේසියේ මිල අධිකම මිලදී ගැනීම බවට පත්වේ.

වමත් වේගපන්දු යවන ඩිල්ෂාන් මධුශංක ඊයේ ෂැංග්‍රිලා හෝටලයේ පැවැති මංගල ලංකා ප්‍රිමියර් ලීග් ක්‍රීඩක වෙන්දේසියේදී යාපනය කිංග්ස් වෙනුවෙන් වැඩිම ලංසුවකට ඉතිහාසගත අලෙවි විය.

ජැෆ්නා කිංග්ස් සහ ගාලු ටයිටන්ස් අතර ඩිල්ෂාන් මධුශංඛ වෙනුවෙන් දැඩි ලංසු තැබීමේ සටනක් දක්නට ලැබුණු අතර කණ්ඩායම් දෙකම එක් එක් ලංසු ඉදිරිපත් කරමින් ප්‍රති-ලංසු ඉදිරිපත් කළහ. එහෙත් තුන් වතාවක් ශූරයන් වූ යාපනය කිංග්ස් කණ්ඩායමට 22 හැවිරිදි තරුණයා අවශ්‍ය වූ බව පැහැදිලි වූ අතර අවසානයේ ඔවුන් ඩොලර් 92,000 කට මධුශංක මිලදී ගත් විට ඔවුන් සාර්ථක විය.

වෙන්දේසියේ අනෙකුත් විශේෂ තේරීම් අතර, දඹුල්ල ඕරා වෙනුවෙන් ඩොලර් 76,000 කට අලෙවි වූ පළමු ක්‍රීඩකයා වූයේ ධනංජය ද සිල්වාය.

දඩබ්බර පිතිකරු චරිත් අසලංකටද ලංසු තැබීමේ තරඟයක් ඇති වූ බැවින් ඔහුටද ඉල්ලුමක් ඇති විය. අවසානයේ මෙම තරු ක්‍රීඩකයා ජැෆ්නා කිංග්ස් වෙත ඩොලර් 80,000 කට අලෙවි විය.

පිතිකරුවන්, තුන් ඉරියව් ක්‍රීඩකයින්, වේග සහ දඟ පන්දු යවන්නන් සහ කඩුලු රකින්නන් කෙරෙහි අවධානය යොමු කරමින් වට 51 කින් සමන්විත වූ වෙන්දේසිය, ජාත්‍යන්තර වරම් හිමි හා නොහිමි ක්‍රිඩකයන් යනාදී එක් එක් නිර්ණායක සඳහා විවිධ කාණ්ඩ සමඟින් මෙවර ලංසු තැබීම ආරම්භ විය.

වෙන්දේසියේදී කණ්ඩායම් පහට ඩොලර් 500,000ක් වැය කිරීමට අවසර ලැබිණි.

ඊයේ දිනයේදී ෆ්‍රැන්චයිස් කණ්ඩායම් පහක් සඳහා අලෙවි වූ ක්‍රීඩකයින් පහත දැක්වේ.

Jaffna Kings:

B- Love Kandy

Galle Titans

Colombo Strikers

Dambulla Aura

Cricket

Sri Lanka to Begin Caribbean Tour with ODI Series in June 2026

Published

13 hours ago

May 3, 2026

Editor

The Sri Lanka national cricket team is set to embark on a full tour of the West Indies cricket team in June and July 2026, featuring a complete schedule across all three formats of the game.

The tour will open with a three-match One Day International (ODI) series at the renowned Sabina Park. The first ODI is scheduled for June 3, followed by the second on June 6 and the final match on June 8. These opening fixtures are expected to set the tone for the remainder of the tour.

Attention will then shift to the shorter format, with three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) also taking place at Sabina Park. The matches are set for June 11, June 13, and June 14, offering fans a fast-paced contest between the two sides.

Sri Lanka will then travel to Antigua for a four-day warm-up game from June 18 to 21 at the Coolidge Cricket Ground. This match will serve as preparation for the longer format of the game.

The two-match Test series will be held at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. The first Test is scheduled from June 25 to 29, while the second Test will take place from July 3 to 7.

Schedule

June 3 – First ODI at Sabina Park
June 6 – Second ODI at Sabina Park
June 8 – Third ODI at Sabina Park
June 11 – First T20I at Sabina Park
⁠June 13 – Second T20I at Sabina Park
⁠June 14 – Third T20I at Sabina Park
⁠June 18–21 – Four-day warm-up match at Coolidge Cricket Ground
⁠June 25–29 – First Test at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium
⁠July 3–7 – Second Test at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium

Athletics

Hero’s Welcome for Golden Girl Wasana

Published

17 hours ago

May 3, 2026

Editor

Sri Lanka celebrated in style as its lone gold medalist Nipuni Wasana at the 6th Asian Beach Games returned home to a rousing welcome, marking a proud moment for the nation.

Airwoman Nipuni Wasana stole the spotlight in Sanya, China, where she clinched gold in the Women’s 50kg Beach Wrestling event. In the final, she overcame Vietnam’s Doan Thi Kim Oanh with a composed and commanding performance, securing a historic victory for Sri Lanka.

Her achievement was met with a grand at Bandaranaike International Airport, where Air Force personnel, sports officials, and supporters gathered to honor her success. Wasana was also given the distinction of carrying the national flag at the closing ceremony, highlighting her status as the country’s top performer at the Games.

Sri Lanka wrapped up its campaign with a total of seven medals one gold, two silver, and four bronze demonstrating competitive strength across multiple disciplines.

The Women’s Beach Kabaddi team delivered an impressive performance to secure silver, while the Men’s team contributed with a bronze medal finish. In Athletics, Ishara Samanmali earned silver in the women’s long jump, and Sashikala Lankathilaka claimed bronze. The Men’s 4x60m relay team also added to the tally with a bronze-winning effort.

A contingent of 77 Sri Lankan athletes competed in eight sports at the Games. Although several disciplines did not produce medals, the team achieved a respectable 10th place overall.
Host nation China dominated the medal standings with 24 gold medals, followed by Thailand and Iran.

News

Chathuranga takes charge as Tuskers seek redemption in final showdown

Published

18 hours ago

May 3, 2026

Editor

Sri Lanka’s Tuskers head into their final fixture against the touring New Zealand Under-85kg side this evening with a fresh leader and a renewed sense of urgency, following a narrow defeat in the opening encounter.

In a notable pre-match development, Tharindu Chathuranga has been entrusted with the captaincy for the decisive game at Nittawela Stadium, set to kick off at 4.15 p.m. The move sees original skipper Lasindu Karunathilake relegated to the bench, as selectors opt for a different approach in their bid to overturn fortunes.

The Tuskers were competitive in the first leg but ultimately fell 27–16 at the Racecourse Grounds. With the series on the line, the team management has responded with a mix of tactical reshuffling and personnel changes aimed at sharpening both attack and defense.
Among the key adjustments, Omalka Gunarathna steps into the starting role at number eight, while Kavindu de Costa replaces Harsha Maduranga at scrum-half. An injury to winger Janidu Dilshan has forced another change, with Jayathu Rajarathna promoted from the bench to the starting XV.

Further alterations in the back division see Murshid Doray move to fullback, allowing Thenuka Nanayakkara to slot into the fly-half position to steer the attack. The bench too has been reinforced with fresh options, as selectors look to add impact in the latter stages of the contest.

Chathuranga, a seasoned campaigner and former Kingswood College leader, has earned recognition for guiding Kandy SC to a strong league season, finishing as runners-up. Known for his work rate and leadership qualities, he now shoulders the responsibility of rallying the side in a high-stakes encounter.

With pride and parity in the series at stake, the Tuskers will be aiming for a more disciplined and clinical display as they attempt to turn the tables on a resilient New Zealand outfit.

Line-up for the final match

Forwards: Deshan Vimukthi, Pulasthi Dassanayake, Hansitha De Silva, Thilina Bandara, Naveen Marasinghe, Tharindu Chathuranga (captain), Lahiru Thilakarathne, Omalka Gunarathna

Backs: Kavindu de Costa, Thenuka Nanayakkara, Dilulksha Dange, Arkash Maduranga, Manika Ruberu, Jayathu Rajarathna, Murshid Doray

Bench: Venura Kodhagoda, Charith Silva, Nisal, Lasindu Karunathilake, Denuwan Wickramaarachi, Oliver Buckle, Vidhuna Amaneth, Yuwan Pathirana