Du Plessis, Russell join Colombo Kings in Lanka T20 league

Former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis and West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell have been selected as the Colombo Kings’ overseas marquee players for next month’s inaugural Lanka Premier League.

Led by Australian Dav Whatmore, who coached Sri Lanka to World Cup glory in 1996, Colombo also picked up former Lanka captain Angelo Mathews in an online draft late on Monday.

The five-team Twenty20 tournament in Sri Lanka was scheduled to be held in August-Septmeber but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will now take place from 21 November-13 December in Kandy and Hambantota.

West Indies players Chris Gayle (Kandy Tuskers) and Carlos Brathwaite (Dambulla Hawks), South African David Miller (Dambulla) and Pakistanis Shahid Afridi (Galle Gladiators) and Shoaib Malik (Jaffna Stallions) are among the other top foreign players who have signed up for the tournament.