Sri Lankan Premier League History

Sri Lankan Premier League is a domestic cricket competition in Sri Lanka, held by Sri Lanka Cricket. It was initially started in 1990 due the assumption that Club Cricket alone is insufficient to keep alive the spirit and competitiveness of Sri Lankan Cricket. It started as a first class tournament in 1990 and till date Sri Lanka remains the only test cricket playing country in the world. Test cricket is their major form of first class cricket. In modified and modernized in face in the year 2004, almost ten years after Inter Provincial Test Cricket started and now it conducts both test series as well as T20 tournaments.

The number of teams included in the Sri Lankan Premier League varied from year to year. In 1990 which marked the beginning of the Sri Lankan Premier League, the premier comprised of four provincial teams. These four provincial teams were: Western Province, Central Province, Southern Province and North Western Province.

But in the next season in 1991, Western Province divided itself into two teams, the City team and the Suburbs team. So now there were total five teams in the tournament.

In the next year, 1992, the Western Province divided itself into three teams, namely, Suburbs team, North team and South Team, so the total teams playing in the tournament were six.

Again in the next year, 1993, Western Province changed its teams. The number of teams remained three, but the classifications of teams were: City, North and South teams. Again in all total six teams participated in the tournament. This pattern of teams was continued in the following years till 1995.

But the year 2004, changed the entire face of the Sri Lankan Cricket Premier League. The teams changed yet again and now the tournament comprised of four teams, namely: Western Province, North Western Province, North Central Province and Uva Province.

Again in year 2008 Limited Over Tournament included two teams from Western province. 5 provincial teams and schools invited team played a part in Twenty20 Tournament 2008.