Sri Lanka Cricket has finally finalized the new dates for the sixth season of the Lanka Premier League. The tournament will now take place in the summer of 2026, after a full year’s hiatus.
LPL will now be held in July-August
SLC has clarified that the 2026 LPL season will begin on July 8th and run until August 8th, 2026.
The tournament was originally scheduled to take place in November-December 2025, but the entire schedule was changed due to preparations for the 2026 T20 World Cup.
Sri Lanka and India are jointly hosting the Men’s T20 World Cup in February-March 2026, so all venues, including Colombo’s Premadasa Stadium, must be prepared now.
This is why the LPL has been shifted to the summer window.
SLC’s full statement reads:
“Sri Lanka Cricket wishes to announce that the sixth edition of the Lanka Premier League will be held from July 8 to August 8, 2026.
The new dates for the sixth edition were finalized following the postponement of the tournament, which was originally scheduled to be held in December 2025.
The postponement was made considering the broader requirement of preparing the ‘Host Venues’ well in advance for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026…”
Which teams will play in LPL 2026?
Only four teams are currently confirmed:
- Colombo Kaps
- Dambulla Sixers
- Galle Marvels
- Kandy Falcons
But the biggest blow has been dealt to the Jaffna Kings. SLC completely terminated the Jaffna franchise due to repeated financial and regulatory defaults by its owner, Lyca Group.
It is not yet clear who the fifth team will be. Either a new franchise will replace Jaffna or the existing team will be rebranded. An announcement is expected soon.
So, the summer of 2026 is set to bring a massive T20 storm to Sri Lanka. A month of action is guaranteed, from July 8th to August 8th.
