Lanka Premier League 2022: Top five Players to watch out for

The third edition of the Lanka Premier League is set to start from December 6 to December 23. It was originally scheduled to take place from 31 July to 21 August 2022 but it was postponed due to the economic crisis in Sri Lanka, with the aim to play it later in 2022.

Five teams compete in the tournament with Jaffna Kings being the most successful having won both the 2020 and 2021 competitions. The other teams competing are Colombo Stars, Dambulla Giants, Galle Gladiators, and Kandy Falcons.

Here are five players to watch out for in LPL 2022:

Wanindu Hasaranga

Wanindu Hasaranga (Source - Twitter)

Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga is the no.1 ranked T20I bowler in the world currently. The 25-year-old is also capable to turn the match with his bat. Recently, he played a brilliant inning against Afghanistan in an ODI match scoring 66 runs off 46 balls.

Hasaranga was the highest wicket-taker in the 20-20 World Cup as he took 15 wickets in the tournament at a superb economy of 6.41. He also became the most expensive Sri Lankan player in the history of the Indian T20 League as the all-rounder was bought by Bengaluru Franchise for INR 10.75 crore in 2022.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz

Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Source - Twitter)

Afghanistan opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz is recognized as one of the hard hitters of the ball. But the numbers don’t do justice to his ability as he has scored 896 runs in 35 T20I innings at an average of 25.60 with a strike rate of 138.27.

Gurbaz was bought by Gujarat Franchise in the 15^th edition of the Indian T20 League as a replacement for Jason Roy. However, he couldn’t get to play a single match in the cash-rich league in 2022. But the defending champions Gujarat have traded the wicketkeeper-batter to Kolkata Franchise for the forthcoming season of the tournament.

Sikandar Raza

Sikandar Raza (Source - Twitter)

Zimbabwe allrounder Sikandar Raza is one of the best-performing players of this year in the white-ball format. He also did very well in the recently concluded 20-20 World Cup. He hit 3 centuries this year in ODIs. However, his T20I stats with the bat are not that good as he has scored 1259 runs in 63 innings at an average of 20.98 with a strike-rate of 128.86. Performing well in LPL will surely open his door for the Indian T20 League 2023.

Raza might also be seen playing in the Indian T20 League as he has given his name at the IPL 2023 auction and the franchises will surely put some effort to purchase the batsman’s services for the next season.

Maheesh Theekshana

Maheesh Theekshana (Source - Twitter)

Sri Lanka's right-arm spinner has impressed every cricket fan with his bowling since he played the first match of his career. Theekshana has taken 31 wickets in 32 T20I matches at an economy rate of 6.56. He was also seen in the Indian T20 League in yellow colors. He performed really well for the Chennai Franchise and proved to be a strike bowler for the team. All eyes will be on him in LPL.

Fabien Allen

Fabien Allen (Source - Twitter)

West Indies allrounder Fabien Anthony Allen will be seen playing in LPL. The star windies player is a key player for his team. Allen has taken 24 wickets in 34 T20I matches at an economy rate of 7.43. He has also performed well in the recently concluded Abu Dhabi T10 League.