Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has announced that its players must receive a clean bill of health before getting a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) to participate in franchise competitions, such as the Indian Premier League (2026).
The rule will affect several Sri Lankan players who are scheduled to play in the IPL. Some have already reached necessary standards and received their NOC’s to take part in India’s Twenty20 event while others are awaiting assessment due to injury rehabilitation processes.
The Delhi Capitals have already received the necessary documents for two of their players; Pathum Nissanka and Dushmantha Chameera. Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Kamindu Mendis has also been cleared last week to compete in the coming IPL season which begins March 28th these three have all managed to pass what is bureaucratically termed ‘Physical Performance Test’.
On the other hand, three Sri Lankan players involved with IPL 2026 sides are yet to face the physical test: Wanindu Hasaranga (Lucknow Super Giants), Matheesha Pathirana (Kolkata Knight Riders) and Eshan Malinga (Sunrisers Hyderabad). Pathirana is expected to miss the opening stages of IPL and may not be available again until mid-April at the earliest.
Not until Thushara makes sure he’s in top condition will Royal Challengers Bangalore give him a place on their IPL squad.
The new selection committee in Sri Lanka, led by Pramodya Wickramasinghe, and the Sports Ministry have launched an eight-week specialized training program for centrally contracted players. With no other international games scheduled until at least the end of May, a concerted effort is being made to lift all-round fitness standards.
The program features a variety of physical training components, notably a 2km sprint to help build stamina. Only those players achieving this benchmark should be allowed to compete in either local tournaments or the Team India League (IPL).
In a further development, an overload of fixtures could mean that some or all Sri Lankan cricketers will have to consider taking their fitness test prior to the commencement of the 2006-07 International Twelve-Twenty Tournament – six instead of seven for Asia.
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