News
New responsibility for Shikhar Dhawan
Shikhar Dhawan has been named as the captain of the Punjab Kings team for the 2023 IPL season.
Shikhar Dhawan is all set to replace Mayank Agarwal as the captain of Punjab Kings from IPL 2023. It is said that Dhawan’s promotion was approved at a franchise board meeting held on Wednesday, with the support of Kings’ newly appointed head coach Trevor Bayliss.
Dhawan, 36, takes over from Agarwal, who was appointed as the captain ahead of IPL 2022. Among the players retained by the Kings ahead of the mega auction are Mayank Agarwal and Arshdeep Singh. Dhawan was their first player.
Earlier this year, the Kings paid INR 8.25 crore (about US$1.1 million) for Dhawan, who has been among the most consistent batsmen since the 2016 IPL. He had a great 2020 season where he scored 618 runs at a strike rate of nearly 145 for Delhi Capitals who traded him from Sunrisers Hyderabad. In his first season for the Kings, Dhawan scored 460 runs in 14 matches at an average of 38.33 and a strike rate of 122.66.
Shikhar Dhawan has been appointed as the captain of the Punjab Kings team for the IPL 2023
Shikhar Dhawan හට නව වගකීමක්
2023 වර්ශයේ පැවැත්වීමට නියමිත IPL තරග වාරය සදහා Punjab Kings කණ්ඩායමේ නායකයා ලෙස ශිකර් ධාවාන් නම් කර ඇත.
IPL 2023 සිට පන්ජාබ් කිංග්ස් හි නායකයා ලෙස මායන්ක් අගර්වාල් වෙනුවට ශිකර් ධවාන් සූදානම් වේ. බදාදා පැවති බලයලත් මණ්ඩල රැස්වීමකදී ධවාන්ගේ උසස්වීම අනුමත වූ බවත්, කිංග්ස් හි අලුතින් පත් කරන ලද ප්රධාන පුහුණුකරු ට්රෙවර් බේලිස්ගේ සහාය ලැබුණු බවත් සදහන් වේ.
36 හැවිරිදි ධවාන් IPL 2022 ට පෙර නායකත්වයට පත් කරන ලද අගර්වාල්ගෙන් වැඩ භාර ගනී. මෙගා වෙන්දේසියට පෙර කිංග්ස් විසින් රඳවාගෙන සිටින ක්රීඩයන් අතරට මායන්ක් අගර්වාල් හා අර්ෂ්දීප් සිං වේ. ධවාන් ඔවුන් පළමු ක්රීඩකයා විය.
මෙම වසර මුලදී, කිංග්ස් 2016 IPL සිට වඩාත්ම ස්ථාවර පිතිකරුවන් අතර සිටින ධවාන් තෝරා ගැනීම සඳහා ඉන්දීය රුපියල් කෝටි 8.25 (ඇමරිකානු ඩොලර් මිලියන 1.1 ක් පමණ) ගෙවා ඇත. ඔහුට විශිෂ්ට 2020 වාරයක් තිබූ අතර එහිදී ඔහු සන්රයිසස් හයිද්රාබාද් වෙතින් ඔහුව වෙළඳාම් කළ දිල්ලි කැපිටල්ස් වෙනුවෙන් 145කට ආසන්න ප්රහාරක වේගයකින් ලකුණු 618ක් රැස් කළේය. කිංග්ස් වෙනුවෙන් ඔහුගේ පළමු වාරයේ දී, ධවාන් තරඟ 14කදී ලකුණු 460ක් ලබා ගත්තේ සාමාන්ය 38.33ක් සහ පහර 122.66ක් සමඟිනි.
ஷிகர் தவானுக்கு புதிய பொறுப்பு
2023 ஐபிஎல் சீசனுக்கான பஞ்சாப் கிங்ஸ் அணியின் கேப்டனாக ஷிகர் தவான் நியமிக்கப்பட்டுள்ளார்.
ஐபிஎல் 2023 முதல் பஞ்சாப் கிங்ஸ் அணியின் கேப்டனாக மயங்க் அகர்வாலுக்கு பதிலாக ஷிகர் தவான் நியமிக்கப்பட உள்ளார். கிங்ஸ் அணியின் புதிய தலைமைப் பயிற்சியாளர் ட்ரெவர் பெய்லிஸின் ஆதரவுடன் புதன்கிழமை நடைபெற்ற ஃபிரான்சைஸ் போர்டு கூட்டத்தில் தவானின் பதவி உயர்வுக்கு ஒப்புதல் அளிக்கப்பட்டதாக கூறப்படுகிறது.
ஐபிஎல் 2022க்கு முன்னதாக கேப்டனாக நியமிக்கப்பட்ட அகர்வாலிடம் இருந்து 36 வயதான தவான் பொறுப்பேற்றார். மெகா ஏலத்திற்கு முன்னதாக கிங்ஸ் தக்கவைத்துள்ள வீரர்களில் மயங்க் அகர்வால் மற்றும் அர்ஷ்தீப் சிங் ஆகியோர் அடங்குவர். தவான் அவர்களின் முதல் வீரர்.
இந்த ஆண்டின் தொடக்கத்தில், 2016 ஐபிஎல் முதல் மிகவும் நிலையான பேட்ஸ்மேன்களில் ஒருவராக இருக்கும் தவானுக்காக கிங்ஸ் INR 8.25 கோடி (சுமார் 1.1 மில்லியன் அமெரிக்க டாலர்கள்) செலுத்தியது. அவர் ஒரு சிறந்த 2020 சீசனைக் கொண்டிருந்தார், அங்கு அவர் சன்ரைசர்ஸ் ஹைதராபாத்தில் இருந்து அவரை வர்த்தகம் செய்த டெல்லி கேபிடல்ஸ் அணிக்காக கிட்டத்தட்ட 145 ஸ்ட்ரைக் ரேட்டில் 618 ரன்கள் எடுத்தார். கிங்ஸ் அணிக்காக தனது முதல் சீசனில், தவான் 14 போட்டிகளில் 38.33 சராசரி மற்றும் 122.66 ஸ்ட்ரைக் ரேட்டில் 460 ரன்கள் எடுத்தார்.
Football
Sri Lanka U20 Women’s Football Hits Rock Bottom at SAFF Championship Amid Continued National-Level Crisis
The Sri Lanka U20 Women’s Team endured a disappointing campaign at the SAFF U20 Women’s Championship 2025, suffering two heavy defeats with one group match left to play. In their opening encounter, Sri Lanka was thrashed 9 -1 by Bangladesh, followed by a 5-0 loss against Bhutan, indicating a deeper crisis in the country’s women’s football structure.


These back-to-back losses highlight the grim state of the women’s football program, especially when placed alongside the senior team’s exit from the AFC Women’s Asian Cup qualifiers earlier this year without a single win. This trend reflects not just a lack of preparation, but an institutional failure to establish a developmental pipeline or strategic plan.

What’s even more concerning is the absence of visible recovery mechanisms from the Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL). Instead of addressing systemic issues—such as lack of coaching standards, insufficient grassroots investment, and poor player welfare—key decision-makers appear more focused on the upcoming FFSL elections. Behind-the-scenes politics continue to stall any meaningful progress in women’s football development.

Despite the promising young talent in Sri Lanka, the gap in fitness, tactical training, and match readiness compared to regional rivals is growing wider. Without immediate technical reforms and leadership that prioritizes performance over politics, the future of women’s football in the country remains uncertain.
With one more match against a strong Nepal side, the prospects of a comeback look bleak, unless there is a radical shift in how the game is managed from the ground up.
News
South Asian Karate Championship 2025: India and Sri Lanka Shine as Karate Celebrates 50 Years in Sri Lanka
Colombo, July 5–6, 2025 – The 9th South Asian Karate Championship and the 1st South Asian Youth Karate Championship successfully concluded at the Sugathadasa Indoor Stadium, marking a landmark moment in Sri Lanka’s martial arts history as the nation celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the Sri Lanka Karate Federation.
This prestigious two-day event was jointly organized by the South Asian Karate Federation and the Sri Lanka Karate Federation, which is registered under the Ministry of Sports as one of the seven official sports federations in the country.
Day 1 (July 5) – Youth Championship Dominated by India and Sri Lanka
The opening day featured intense youth-level competition with over 700 athletes from seven South Asian nations – Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and the Maldives – competing in age categories below 14.
🥇 Youth Medal Standings (U-14 Category):
- India – 22 Medals (1st Place)
- Nepal – 20 Medals (2nd Place)
- Sri Lanka – 10 Medals (3rd Place)
📺 Watch Day 1 Highlights:
Final Day (July 6) – Sri Lanka Takes Youth Title, India Clinches Senior Crown
The second day of the tournament featured both senior and youth finals. In a historic achievement, Sri Lanka emerged champions in the Youth Division, while India secured the Senior Team Championship, continuing their regional dominance.
Final Team Standings:
- Senior Category:
- 🥇 India (Champions)
- 🥈 Nepal (Runners-up)
- 🥉 Sri Lanka (Third Place)
- Youth Category:
- 🥇 Sri Lanka (Champions)
- 🥈 India (Runners-up)
- 🥉 Nepal (Third Place)
Watch Final Day Highlights:
Special Guests & Recognition
The event was graced by His Excellency Akio Isomata, the Japanese Ambassador to Sri Lanka, who attended as the Chief Guest, acknowledging Sri Lanka’s long-standing contribution to the growth of karate in South Asia.
Also present was Bharat Sharma, President of the South Asian Karate Federation, who praised the standard of competition and Sri Lanka’s organizing excellence.
Karate in Sri Lanka – 50 Years of Legacy
This championship coincided with the 50th Anniversary of the Sri Lanka Karate Federation, which has played a vital role in shaping karate talent nationally and internationally. With continued support from the Ministry of Sports, karate remains one of Sri Lanka’s fastest-growing combat sports.
Football
Sri Lanka Women Finish Qualifiers with 0 Goals, 20 Conceded – Who Will Take Responsibility?
Colombo, July 3 – Sri Lanka Women’s National Football Team wrapped up their AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 Qualifiers campaign with a third straight defeat — a 2-0 loss to Laos — confirming their position at the bottom of Group F, with 0 wins, 0 goals scored, and 18 conceded in just three games.
But beyond the scorelines lies a far more serious issue: a complete collapse of women’s football development in Sri Lanka. And this time, the blame does not lie on one individual — but on a system that has failed the sport, from top to bottom.

Match-by-Match Recap
Match 1: Sri Lanka 0 – 10 Uzbekistan
- Possession: 30%
- Shots on Target: 0
- xG: 0.0 vs Uzbekistan’s 3.60
- A game that exposed a lack of preparation, structure, and fitness from the very start.
Match 2: Sri Lanka 0 – 8 Nepal
- Possession: 50%
- Defensive errors gifted goals, including a hat-trick by Sabitra Bhandari.
- xG: Nepal 3.76 vs Sri Lanka 0.60
- Tactical breakdown: Midfield collapsed under pressure, backline failed to close space.
Match 3: Sri Lanka 0 – 2 Laos
- Possession: 50%
- Shots on Target: 5
- xG: 2.56 (Laos) vs 1.08 (Sri Lanka)
- A more balanced performance, but defensive lapses in the 73rd and 90+2 minutes led to defeat. Sri Lanka couldn’t convert chances despite their best game statistically.
Final Group Standings – Group F
Team | MP | GF | GA | GD | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
🇳🇵 Nepal | 2 | 17 | 0 | +17 | 6 |
🇺🇿 Uzbekistan | 2 | 17 | 0 | +17 | 6 |
🇱🇦 Laos | 2 | 2 | 16 | -14 | 0 |
🇱🇰 Sri Lanka | 3 | 0 | 20 | -20 | 0 |
Tactical Issues Across All Matches
- No clear formation or transition play.
- Lack of defensive coordination — players failed to track runners, especially on the flanks.
- No attacking identity — only 1.08 xG across three games.
- In-game management absent — few substitutions or tactical shifts despite being outplayed.
While public criticism often targets the President of the Football Federation, this decline in women’s football runs deeper:
Who Is Accountable? Not Just the President
Women’s Football Committee:
- Failed to organize any domestic tournament in recent years.
- Selected the squad via open trials, with no league performance data to back selections.
- No consistent training camps or fitness programs.
Executive Committee:
- Remains silent on the recurring failures.
- No inquiries, reviews, or structural reforms have followed Sri Lanka’s repeated humiliations — including the U20 Women’s SAFF defeat earlier this year.
Technical & Development Staff:
- No tactical framework or youth development.
- No modern coaching methods or international exposure for players.
The Bigger Problem: Silence and Stagnation
Sri Lanka is not just losing matches — it’s losing direction. The current state of women’s football is not the result of one bad campaign. It’s the product of years of neglect, political appointments, and a failure to treat women’s football with equal priority.
Even now, there is no explanation from the Executive Committee on how the women’s team was prepared or what plans exist for recovery.
Time for a Reset, Not Excuses
If Sri Lanka is serious about competing in international football, the following must be addressed:
- ✅ A national women’s league
- ✅ Provincial and school-level competitions
- ✅ Professional coaching staff and structured fitness programs
- ✅ Regular international friendlies and camps
- ✅ Transparent selection processes based on performance, not politics
🔚 Conclusion
Sri Lanka’s 2026 AFC campaign should not just be remembered for the scorelines — but as a call for change. It is time for every stakeholder — from the Women’s Committee to the Executive — to reflect, respond, and rebuild.
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