ESPN STAR Sports has announced that it has reached a multi-year broadcast rights agreement for exclusive coverage of the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) in India. The first edition of this T20 league will be played in August 2012.
The multi-year deal includes a minimum of 24 T20 matches per season. The first edition of SLPL will see seven provisional teams compete for the coveted trophy as well as a qualifier berth to the Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20) to be held later this year. SLPL will feature 42 international players participating from sevencountries. Star Cricket, Star Sports and ESPN will broadcast all the matches live and exclusive in India starting August 11, 2012.
The broadcast rights agreement also includes live coverage of SLPL in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, Nepal, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
These rights, in addition to the existing T20 leagues from Australia, England and Bangladesh and along with CLT20 and ICC WT20, make ESS the undisputed leader in this coveted cricket format.
Peter Hutton, Managing Director, ESPN Star Sports, said, “We are delighted to be able to telecast the live matches of SLPL in India and throughout the region. It is an excellent addition to Star Cricket’s remarkable catalogue of content in the next year, headlined by India’s home series against Pakistan, England and New Zealand, the ICC World T20, the Champions League T20 and the ICC Champions trophy. Sri Lanka cricket becomes the 6th cricket body with whom we are working on the shortest form of the game. Our coverage of Australia’s Big Bash and the T20 leagues in England and Bangladesh have already shown our commitment to the format, and we look to further growing our live cricket content.”
SLPL has attracted players from Australia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, South Africa, New Zealand, Zimbabwe and West Indies. While all leading players from Sri Lanka are expected to play, other star cricketers from around the globe who have signed up to participate in SLPL include:
West Indies:Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels, Fidel Edwards, Kemar Roach, Kevon Cooper and Jerome Taylor.
Bangladesh:Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Raheem, Elias Sunny and Nasir Hossain,
Pakistan:Shahid Afridi, Misbah Ul Haq, Saeed Ajmal, Sohail Tanvir, Shoaib Malik, Azhar Mahmood, Abdul Razzaq, Imran Nazir, Umar Gul, Ahmed Shahzad, Hammad Azam, Abdur Rehman, Imran Farhat and Umar Akmal
South Africa:Albie Morkel, Johan Botha, Robin Peterson, Ryan McLaren and Richard Levi
New Zealand:James Franklin, Nathan McCullum and Tim Southee
Australia: Dirk Nannes, Ryan Harris, Brad Hodge, Mitchell Marsh, Andrew McDonald, Brad Hogg, Callum Ferguson, and Clint Mckay
Zimbabwe:Brendan Taylor
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