MUMBAI: The auction of seven Sri Lanka Premier League franchises have fetched Sri Lankan cricket board $30 million with average price of each franchise working out to $4.3 million.

The SLC had set the reserve price for each franchise at $3 million. The franchises have the rights for seven years.

The names of the franchises have not been revealed. The SLC will announce the list of successful bidders only after its executive committee ratifies the bids.

"I am pleased to announce that bids were received in respect of all seven teams, at average price of $4.3 million per bid," SLC official Vajira Dassanayake said.

The first edition of the SLPL will be held from 10-31 August. The seven teams will play a total of 24 matches at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo and the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.

The players will be selected through draft process on 5 and 6 July. They will be divided into two groups with the first group comprising players from Sri Lanka while the second group will include foreign players.

Each team will be allowed to have only 18 players in their squad with a compulsory ruling of no more than six overseas players in each squad.

Somerset Entertainment Ventures is commercial rights holder for the tournament.

All the matches of SLPL will be televised live by Carlton Sports in Sri Lanka. CSN is owned by family members of Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa.

MUMBAI: The cash-strapped Sri Lanka Cricket board (SLC) has set a floor price of $3 million for the T20 league franchises, a paltry amount compared to the IPL.

When IPL launched in 2008, it had fixed a minimum price of $50 million, which later zoomed to $225 million when two teams were added in 2010.

The SLC said it will lease out seven teams for a period of seven years and has set in motion the process of identifying franchises for the Sri Lanka Premier League. Bids are invited for the T20 league which has been formed on the lines of cash rich Indian Premier League.

The last day to submit bids is 25 June, while the names of successful bidders will be announced the same day. Interested entities can bid for a maximum of three franchises.

The first edition of SLPL Twenty20 will feature seven provincial teams who will play a total of 24 matches at two venues Colombo and Pallekele. The SLPL will be played from 10-31 August before the ICC Twenty20 World Cup which will be held in Sri Lanka.

Each team will be allowed to have only 18 players in their squad with a compulsory ruling of no more than six overseas players in each squad.

However, teams can field only four overseas players in the playing eleven, while the remaining seven players will be Sri Lankan?s with one player mandatorily being an under-21 cricketer.

The players will be selected through draft process with players being divided into two groups. The first group will consist of players from Sri Lanka while the second group will include foreign players.

It was the Indian cricket board?s reluctance to allow Indian players in the SLPL that led to the postponement of the league last year.

However, the SLC has made it clear that it will go ahead with the league even without Indian players. "We will go ahead with the tournament with or without Indian players," SLC Secretary Nishantha Ranatunga said.

The Sri Lankan board has got the commitment of most full member countries, who have committed to release their players for the tournament, he added.

Somerset Entertainment Ventures is commercial rights holder for the tournament.

All the matches of SLPL will be televised live by Carlton Sports in Sri Lanka. CSN is owned by family members of Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa.

MUMBAI: The inaugural season of Sri Lanka Premier League will be held from 10-31 August at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo and the Pallekele Stadium in Kandy, Sri Lanka Cricket has announced.

The first edition of SLPL Twenty20 will feature seven provincial teams who will play a total of 24 matches with a compulsory ruling of no more than six overseas players in each squad.

However, teams can field only four overseas players in the playing eleven, while the remaining seven players will be Sri Lankans, with one player mandatorily being an under-21 cricketer.

"Twenty20?s massive popularity and status as the most exciting and entertaining format of cricket will be further enhanced by this newest tournament to the world of cricket. International players will be playing in the SLPL alongside Sri Lankan national cricketers and young Lankan hopefuls," SLC said in a media statement.

The seven teams for SLPL are Basnahira Bears, Kandurata Kites, Nagenahira Nagas, Ruhuna Rhinos, Uthura Oryxes, Uva Unicorns, and Wayamba Wolves.

"Each team shall draw elements of its unique branding/personality from the province it represents," the statement added.

The names of the respective Sri Lankan icon players for each province will be released shortly.

All the matches of SLPL will be televised live, with Carlton Sports Network broadcasting the matches in the home market of Sri Lanka. CSN is reportedly owned by family members of Mahinda Rajapaksa, the president of Sri Lanka.

The tournament, which was expected to kick-off last year, had to be postponed at the last minute due to non-participation of Indian players, a key factor for the commercial success of the tournament.

SLC had recently signed a new 15-year commercial deal with Somerset Singapore-based Somerset Entertainment Ventures for the league, after the interim committee of SLC was replaced with a new one.