“International players will be playing the SLPL alongside Sri Lanka national cricketers and young Lankan hopefuls (who will get a platform to showcase their skills on an international stage),”the statement said.The first edition will feature seven provinces andeach team cannot have more than five overseas players in the squad, and four in the XI.The remaining seven players will be Sri Lankans,with one player among them being an under-21 cricketer. Seven teams will take part this year, with two more provinces slated to join the action within the next three years. Somerset Entertainment wins the Rights to develop Sri Lankan Cricket Premier League in collaboration with Total Sports Asia. The Tournament which was previously known as the Inter-Provincial Tournament,will now be renamed the “Sri Lanka Premier League” (SLPL). The first edition of the SLPL, which will be played over 18 days starting at the end of July this year, will see all its matches played at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo; this despite Sri Lanka having built two new stadiums, in Pallekele and Hambantota, for the recently concluded World Cup. Ranatunga explained logistical reasons meant only one stadium could be used for the tournament. Unlike the IPL and the new format of the Big Bash League in Australia, the SLPL will not feature city-based teams. Ranatunga said having provincial teams would allow an entire province to associate themselves with a team and thus create a bigger following for the tournament.