Sri Lanka Cricket drops social media follower rule for LPL 2026 after backlash

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has decided to remove the controversial social media follower requirement for Icon and Star category players participating in the sixth season of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) following backlash from the cricket community.

According to a NewsWire report, the updated LPL Season 6 player registration and draft guide, issued on May 9, no longer includes the earlier rule that players in the Icon and Star categories must have more than 250,000 social media followers.

The tournament, scheduled from July 10 to August 5, had previously required overseas cricketers aiming for the top-tier Icon category to meet not only strong cricketing criteria but also social media popularity standards. Players needed at least 75 T20 Internationals, over 100 franchise T20 matches, and participation in 30 matches over the past 18 months, along with a minimum of 250,000 followers across social media platforms.

A similar follower requirement was also applied to the Star category. Players in this group were required to have played at least 50 T20 Internationals, more than 100 franchise T20 matches, and a minimum of 30 games in the last 18 months, in addition to maintaining over 250,000 social media followers.

The revised regulations have now removed all references to social media follower counts across categories, while retaining cricket-based eligibility criteria such as international appearances, franchise experience, and recent match participation.

The move had earlier drawn criticism, with many pointing out the contradiction between Sri Lanka Cricket’s advice for players to focus on performance and limit social media use, and the league’s emphasis on online popularity.

The decision sparked widespread debate on social media, with critics arguing that player classification in Sri Lanka’s premier T20 league should be based purely on cricketing merit rather than digital influence.

Although the follower requirement has been scrapped, the updated guidelines still emphasize promotional duties, including mandatory social media engagement, fan interaction programmes, and tournament-related promotional appearances.