Colombo Strikers

Colombo Strikers

League	Lanka Premier League
Personnel
Captain	Thisara Perera
Coach	Carl Crowe
Owner	Sagar Khanna (SKKY Group)
Team information
City	Colombo, Western Province, Sri Lanka
Colours	Pink   Purple
Founded	2020: Colombo Kings 2021: Colombo Stars 2023: Colombo Strikers
Home ground	R. Premadasa Stadium
Capacity	35,000
History
LPL wins	0
T20I Kit

Colombo Strikers, formerly known as Colombo Stars and Colombo Kings, is a franchise Twenty20 cricket team based in Colombo, Sri Lanka, that competes in the Lanka Premier League. In the inaugural season, Murfad Mustafa was the owner of the franchise.[1][2] The team was supposed to be coached by former Australian cricketer Dav Whatmore.[3][4] However he pulled out ahead of the 2020 Lanka Premier League for personal reasons and was replaced by former English cricketer Kabir Ali.[5] Kabir Ali was again replaced by Herschelle Gibbs after he tested positive for COVID-19. Angelo Mathews was announced as the icon player and Andre Russell was named as the marquee foreign player.[6] In June 2021, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) terminated the franchise ahead of the 2021 Lanka Premier League, due to financial issues.[7][8]

In November 2021, the team changed its name to Colombo Stars after Softlogic Holdings PLC took over the ownership of the franchise.[9] In May 2023, LPL promoter and the chairman of IPG Group told that Softlogic Holdings PLC had part ways with Colombo Stars with mutual understanding.[10] In May 2023, the team changed its name to Colombo Strikers after SKKY Group took over the ownership.[11]

Seasons

Year	League table standing	Final standing
2020	1st out of 5	Semi-finalists
2021	3rd out of 5	Playoffs
2022	3rd out of 5	Runners up
2023	5th out of 5	League Stage
2024	3rd out of 5	Playoffs

Current squad

• Sources: ESPNcricinfo,[12] ThePapare.com[13]
• Players with international caps are listed in bold.

No.	Name	Nationality	Date of birth (age)	Batting style	Bowling style	Year signed	Salary (US$)	Notes
Batters
28	Avishka Fernando	Sri Lanka	(1998-04-05) 5 April 1998 (age 26)	Right-handed	Right-arm medium-fast	2024	Direct signing
18	Pathum Nissanka	Sri Lanka	(1998-05-18) 18 May 1998 (age 26)	Right-handed	—	2024	40,000
49	Alex Ross	Australia	(1992-04-17) 17 April 1992 (age 32)	Right-handed	Right-arm off break	2024	20,000	Overseas
32	Rilee Rossouw	South Africa	(1989-10-09) 9 October 1989 (age 35)	Left-handed	Right-arm off break	2024	60,000	Overseas
	Ahan Wickramasinghe	Sri Lanka	(2001-09-02) 2 September 2001 (age 23)	Right-handed	—	2024	5,000
All-rounders
97	Fabian Allen	Jamaica	(1995-05-07) 7 May 1995 (age 29)	Right-handed	Slow left-arm orthodox	2024	32,000	Overseas
72	Charith Asalanka	Sri Lanka	(1997-06-29) 29 June 1997 (age 27)	Left-handed	Right-arm off break	2023	Retained	Captain
75	Dhananjaya de Silva	Sri Lanka	(1991-09-06) 6 September 1991 (age 33)	Right-handed	Right-arm off break	2024	50,000
77	Azmatullah Omarzai	Afghanistan	(2000-03-24) 24 March 2000 (age 24)	Right-handed	Right-arm medium-fast	2024	Direct signing	Overseas
	Wanuja Sahan	Sri Lanka	(2003-06-17) 17 June 2003 (age 21)	Left-handed	Slow left-arm orthodox	2024	10,000
	Lahiru Samarakoon	Sri Lanka	(1997-03-03) 3 March 1997 (age 27)	Left-handed	Right-arm fast-medium	2024	13,000
Wicket-keepers
	Nishan Madushka	Sri Lanka	(1999-09-10) 10 September 1999 (age 25)	Right-handed	—	2024	10,000
13	Kusal Mendis	Sri Lanka	(1995-02-02) 2 February 1995 (age 29)	Right-handed	Right-arm leg break	2024	Direct signing
	Vishad Randika	Sri Lanka	(1997-09-02) 2 September 1997 (age 27)	Right-handed	Right-arm off break	2024	5,000
Spin bowlers
	Murvin Abinash	Sri Lanka	(2000-06-18) 18 June 2000 (age 24)	Left-handed	Right-arm off break	2024	5,000
15	Tabraiz Shamsi	South Africa	(1990-02-18) 18 February 1990 (age 34)	Right-handed	Left-arm unorthodox spin	2024	Direct signing	Overseas
	Theesan Vithushan	Sri Lanka	(2001-05-02) 2 May 2001 (age 23)	Right-handed	Slow left-arm orthodox	2024	5,000
26	Vijayakanth Viyaskanth	Sri Lanka	(2001-12-05) 5 December 2001 (age 23)	Right-handed	Right-arm leg break	2023	Retained
Pace bowlers
65	Jason Behrendorff	Australia	(1990-04-20) 20 April 1990 (age 34)	Right-handed	Left-arm fast-medium	2024	50,000	Overseas
	Asitha Fernando	Sri Lanka	(1997-07-31) 31 July 1997 (age 27)	Right-handed	Right-arm medium-fast	2024	40,000
40	Pramod Madushan	Sri Lanka	(1993-12-14) 14 December 1993 (age 31)	Right-handed	Right-arm medium-fast	2024	20,000
	Eshan Malinga	Sri Lanka	(2001-02-04) 4 February 2001 (age 23)	Left-handed	Right-arm fast-medium	2024	13,000
	Arul Pragasam	Sri Lanka	(1993-11-06) 6 November 1993 (age 31)	Right-handed	Right-arm medium	2024	5,000
	Nisala Tharaka	Sri Lanka	(1991-04-20) 20 April 1991 (age 33)	Right-handed	Right-arm medium-fast	2024	5,000

Administration and support staff

Position	Name
Head Coach	Carl Crowe
Bowling Coach	Chaminda Vaas
Assistant Coach	Simon Helmot

Captains

As of 19 June 2024

No.	Player	From	To	Mat	Won	Lost	Tie&W	Tie&L	NR	Win%
1	Angelo Mathews	2020	2022	14	8	5	1	0	0	60.71
2	Dhananjaya de Silva	2021	2021	4	1	3	0	0	0	25.00
3	Niroshan Dickwella	2023	2023	5	2	3	0	0	0	40.00
4	Chamika Karunaratne	2023	2023	2	1	1	0	0	0	50
5	Babar Azam	2023	2023	1	0	1	0	0	0	0
6	Thisara Perera	2024	present

• Source: CricInfo[14]

Statistics

Highest individual score

As of 18 August 2023

Runs	Player	Opposition	Venue	Date
108*	Laurie Evans	Jaffna Stallions	Mahinda Rajapaksha International Cricket Stadium, Hambantota	10 December 2020
104	Babar Azam	Galle Gladiators	Pallekele Cricket Stadium, Kandy	7 August 2023
80	Dinesh Chandimal	Kandy Tuskers	Mahinda Rajapaksha International Cricket Stadium, Hambantota	26 November 2020
73*	Angelo Mathews	Jaffna Kings	Pallekele Cricket Stadium, Kandy	12 December 2022
73		Galle Gladiators	R.Premadasa Stadium, Colombo	12 December 2021
Source: Cricinfo[15]

Most career wickets

As of 19 August 2023

Wickets	Player	Seasons
22	Jeffrey Vandersay	2020–2023
21	Dushmantha Chameera	2020–2021
15	Seekkuge Prasanna	2021–2022
15	Naveen-ul-Haq	2021–2022
13	Kasun Rajitha	2022
12	Matheesha Pathirana	2023-2023

• Source: CricInfo[16]

Best figures in an innings

As of 19 August 2023

Figures	Player	Opposition	Venue	Date
6/25	Jeffrey Vandersay	Kandy Warriors	R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo	17 December 2021
5/22	Kasun Rajitha	Dambulla Aura		14 December 2022
4/20	Kasun Rajitha	Kandy Falcons		22 December 2022
4/35	Dushmantha Chameera	Kandy Warriors		14 December 2021
3/24	Matheesha Pathirana	Kandy Warriors		31 July 2023
3/17	Benny Howell	Galle Gladiators		21 December 2022

• Source: CricInfo[17]

Kit manufacturers and sponsors

Year	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor (front)	Shirt sponsor (back)	Chest branding
2020	Moose Clothing
2021		Softlogic Holdings
2022		MazaPlay		Softlogic Holdings
2023		Kheloyar	1xBook
2024		Babu88 Sports[18]	Zetto Sports	Oateo

See also

• Colombo Kings in 2020
• Colombo Stars in 2021
• Colombo Stars in 2022
• Colombo Strikers in 2023
• Colombo Strikers in 2024

References

1. Kumarasinghe, Chathura (17 November 2020). "Faza Group to unleash Colombo Kings on LPL". ThePapare.com. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
2. "Meet Murfad Mustafa, the Indian who owns LPL team Colombo Kings". The Week. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
3. "Whatmore excited to return to Sri Lanka for LPL". BDCricTime. 7 November 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
4. Sanyal, S. (21 October 2020). "LPL 2020: The complete player lists for all Lanka Premier League franchises". Sportskeeda. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
5. "Dav Whatmore won't be joining Lanka Premier League". BDCricTime. 15 November 2020. Retrieved 15 November 2020.
6. Scroll staff (19 October 2020). "Cricket: Gayle, du Plessis, Afridi among marquee names picked in Lanka Premier League draft". scroll.in. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
7. "SLC approves termination of Colombo Kings and Dambulla Viiking". CricBuzz. 26 June 2021. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
8. "Colombo Kings, Dambulla Viiking terminate contracts, withdraw from LPL 2021". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
9. "Softlogic Holdings to take ownership of Colombo Franchise for LPL 2021". The Papare. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
10. LPL denies media reports on dispute with Softlogic NewsWire. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
11. "New York-based SKKY group takes over LPL Colombo franchise". Ada Derana. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
12. "Pathirana, Udana, Janat the most expensive picks in LPL 2024 auction". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
13. "LPL 2024 Auction: Full Squads of all 5 Teams". ThePapare. 21 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
14. ESPNcricinfo
15. "Highest individual score". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
16. "Most career wickets". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
17. "Best bowling figures in an innings". Retrieved 20 October 2020.
18. "BABU88Sports Announces Sponsorship of Colombo Strikers in Lanka Premier League". Business Standard. 3 July 2024.