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Aluthgamage’s claims of franchise owners pulling out have been dismissed

The Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL) is set to go ahead as planned after sports minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage told Ceylon Today that franchise owners were starting to withdraw their support and funding.

Aluthgamage admitted to the tournament being in “trouble”, but this has been dismissed by a ministry statement.

“At no stage have the franchises refused or stated their inability to participate in the forthcoming SLPL 2013,” the release said. “The Ministry of Sports wishes to confirm that Sri Lanka Cricket will conduct the SLPL on the scheduled dates, from August 10 to September 07, 2013.”

According to reports, each SLPL franchise pays an average of $4.3 million per year to compete in the tournament, and this figure does not include operational costs.

After the inaugural edition of the SLPL it was reported that every franchise had made a significant loss, prompting some owners to consider cutting their funding.

The inaugural edition also failed to produce the finances Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) were hoping for as they desperately continue to seek out a solution to their mounting debts after having built two stadiums and renovated another for the 2011 International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup.