The inaugural edition of the tournament took place in November and December of last year, with Jaffna Stallions beating Galle Gladiators in the final. Laurie Evans, Mohammad Amir and Qais Ahmad were a few of the star overseas performers in the competition.

On Friday (July 2), Sri Lanka Cricket announced a raft of overseas players who have registered for the LPL 2021, including Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, South Africa white-ball captain Temba Bavuma, West Indies batsman Nicholas Pooran and No.1-ranked T20I bowler Tabraiz Shamsi.

“Last year’s success has certainly made a difference with more players from many cricket playing countries looking forward to play in the LPL, which is a very good sign for the league and Sri Lanka cricket,” said Sri Lanka Cricket’s vice-president Ravin Wickremaratne.

Some of the overseas players registered for the LPL 2021 draft

Bangladesh: Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar, Mahmudullah

Australia: Ben Cutting, James Faulkner, Usman Khawaja, Ben Dunk, Callum Ferguson

West Indies: Nicholas Pooran, Sherfane Rutherford, Sheldon Cottrell, Rayad Emrit, Ravi Rampaul, Dwayne Smith, Denesh Ramdin, Johnson Charles, Rovman Powell

Pakistan: Haris Sohail, Waqas Maqsood, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammed Irfan, Sohaib Maqsood, Shan Masood, Anwar Ali, Amad Butt

South Africa: Rilee Rossouw, David Wiese, JJ Smuts, Morne Morkel, Rassie van der Dussen, Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi, Hardus Viljoen

Afghanistan: Asghar Afghan, Mohammad Shahzad, Najibullah Zadran, Naveen-ul-Haq, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Hazratullah Zazai, Qais Ahmad

New Zealand: Mitchell McClenaghan