KARACHI: Pakistani cricketers have dominated the registration of foreign players for the Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2026 with 102 applications, the franchise league confirmed on Saturday.
The player registration process opened on May 8 and closed on May 20, and a total of 650 overseas cricketers from all full-member International Cricket Council (ICC) members and associate countries submitted their names.
According to the LPL, the highest number of entries from all member countries came from Pakistan, whose 102 cricketers signed up for the five-team tournament scheduled to run from July 17 to August 8.
“The highest number of entries from full member countries came from Pakistan, South Africa, West Indies, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, New Zealand, Australia and England,” the franchise league said in a statement.
Among those registered are 102 players from Pakistan, 75 from West Indies, 66 from South Africa, 48 from Bangladesh, 41 from New Zealand, 24 from Australia, 15 from England and 12 from India.
On the other hand, among the Associate countries, the largest number of registrations were received from the United States of America (USA) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The franchise league further shared that following the screening process, only 310 of the 650 registered foreign cricketers will be shortlisted for the LPL 2026 player draft to be held on June 1.
Notably, the 2026 edition of the LPL will feature five franchises representing Jaffna, Colombo, Kandy, Galle and Dambulla.
However, the official team names and ownership details are yet to be confirmed, with Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) expected to release the full branding and ownership identities closer to the tournament.