Jaffna Stallions became the first franchise cricket team in the 2020 Lanka Premier League (LPL) to go into training sessions.
With the impeccable guidance and leadership of Thilina Kandamby, the head coach and Thisara Perera the captain, the team took on in a three-day residential cricket camp from November 13 to 15 at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.
All the Sri Lankan players will take part in the training camp. The squad is made up of Thisara Perera (captain), Hasaranga de Silva, Avishka Fernando, Dhananjaya de Silva, Suranga Lakmal, Binura Fernando, Minod Bhanuka, Chaturanga de Silva, Mahesh Theekshana, Charith Asalanka, Nuvinidu Fernando, Kanagaratnam Kapilraj, Theivendiram Dinoshan and Yiyakanth Yiyaskanth.
Adding a new flare to the game, the team introduces three talented young cricketers in Kanagaratnam Kapilraj, Theivendiram Dinoshan and Vijayakanth Viyaskanth from Jaffna. The rest of the coaching staff consists of Hemang Badani (consultant), Mario Villavarayan (trainer and fast bowling coach), Sachith Pathirana (spin bowling coach) and Vimukthi Deshapriya (fielding coach).
The squad has a total of 20 cricketers with 14 Sri Lankan and six international players. Jaffna Stallions is one of the most balanced teams in the tournament because of the strength of its all-rounders who happen to be experienced local and international players.
Kandamby said that he was happy to start training well-ahead of the tournament as it allows the team members to get to know each others’ strengths.
“It is always important to train together so we can draw up a sound plan for the League. These sessions are important to physically and mentally prepare ourselves for the tournament,” said Kandamby with confidence.
Thisara Perera, the captain of Jaffna Stallions, also agreed that early training will give them a competitive edge over other teams in the LPL.
“It was very important that we started our training early. This will help us to uplift team spirit and face the fierce competition of the LPL. I’m also happy to see three young and talented Jaffna based cricketers joining the training session. All the senior players are keen to assist them,” added Perera.
The 2020 LPL is all set to kick off on November 26 and will continue until December 17. This will be the inaugural edition of the LPL Twenty/20 franchise cricket tournament in Sri Lanka.
Five teams, stringing together talented players from all around the world, will play a total of 23 matches in a bid to win the coveted Inaugural Lanka Premier League championship. Jaffna Stallions is owned by a consortium of 12 Sri Lankans living in UK, Canada and Australia.