But,
owner
of
Galle
Gladiators
Nadeem
Omar
said
this
will
be
the
year
of
the
Gladiators
as
they
prepare
to
bounce
back
even
stronger
in
the
second
edition
of
the
T20
League
in
the
island
nation.

In
the
first
season,
the
team
was
led
by
Pakistani
star
all-
rounder
Shahid
Afridi
in
the
early
phase
of
the
tournament
and
was
later
taken
over
by
Sri
Lanka’s
Bhanuka
Rajapaksa
after
Afridi
had
to
leave
the
tournament
midway
due
to
personal
reasons.
Legendary
pacer
Wasim
Akram
was
the
team
mentor.

Omar,
who
is
also
president
of
the
Karachi
City
Cricket
Association
since
2018,
also
owns
the
Quetta
Gladiators
franchise
in
the
Pakistan
Super
League
(PSL).
He
is
also
the
president
of
the
Pakistan
Cricket
Club.
The
core
motivation
of
the
Galle
franchise
is
to
develop
the
game
in
the
southern
province
of
Sri
Lanka.

“The
upcoming
season
of
LPL
2021
is
very
crucial
for
us
especially
after
the
way
we
fought
back
last
season.
We
saw
some
remarkable
performances
from
young
players
like
Azam
Khan,
Dhananjaya
Lakshan
and
Sahan
Arachchige.
They
have
set
a
benchmark
of
excellence
for
the
younger
talents
who
will
come
into
the
team.

Coming
into
the
next
edition,
we
want
to
put
up
a
better
fight
and
clinch
the
trophy.
We
had
great
support
from
the
fans
around
Galle,
though
they
weren’t
allowed
into
the
stadiums
but
we
saw
their
support
online
through
various
platforms.
We
urge
them
to
extend
their
support
in
similar
fashion
and
help
us
grow,”
said
Omar.

Anil
Mohan,
who
is
the
Founder
and
CEO
of
Dubai-based
production
giant
The
IPG
Group,
the
official
promoter
of
LPL,
added,
“Gladiators
set
LPL
on
fire
with
their
remarkable
comeback
in
the
first
edition.
But
we
are
all
set
to
witness
a
new
chapter
in
its
cricketing
history
with
LPL
becoming
bigger
and
better.
I
am
confident
that
the
Galle
team’s
performance
will
help
the
League
grow
in
stature.”

Jawad
Ghulam
Rasool,
COO
&
CCMO
of
The
IPG
Group
added:
“Last
season
of
LPL
saw
Nadeem
Omar’s
team,
the
Galle
Gladiators
give
us
some
nail-biting
performances.
Omar
will
always
hold
a
special
relationship
with
us
as
the
first
franchise
to
be
announced
that
kick
started
the
league.
I
look
forward
to
some
thrilling
moments
in
this
year’s
LPL
which
will
no
doubt
be
welcomed
by
sports
enthusiasts.”

The
inaugural
edition
of
the
Lanka
Premier
League
(LPL)
which
was
played
in
a
bio-secure
bubble
at
the
Mahinda
Rajapaksa
International
Cricket
Stadium
in
Hambantota
from
November
26
till
December
16,
2020,
reached
a
cumulative
audience
of
557
million
people
through
TV,
digital-social
space,
and
traditional
media
outlets.

Sponsors
enjoyed
a
media
evaluation
(visibility)
of
$54.5m
and
title
sponsor
MY11CIRCLE
enjoyed
a
ROI
of
9.85x.
Winner
of
the
first
edition
of
LPL
Jaffna
Stallions
tops
the
valuation
chart
with
$3.98m
followed
by
Galle
Gladiators
($3.82m),
Dambulla
Kings
($3.54m)
Colombo
Kings
($3.44m)
and
Kandy
Tuskers
($3.19m).

The
LPL
matches
which
were
telecast
live
by
Sky
Sports,
Sony
Sports
Network,
Geo,
PTV,
and
Willow
TV
in
Sri
Lanka,
India,
Pakistan,
Bangladesh,
UK,
US,
Canada,
Ireland,
and
New
Zealand
saw
155
million
people
tuning
in
to
catch
live
action.

On
social
media,
it
achieved
a
reach
of
218
million
and
LPL
found
133478
mentions
as
the
league
came
alive
with
each
and
every
match
with
some
scintillating
performances
on
the
ground.