India, July 17 -- With the season of T20 Leagues, the Lanka Premier League (LPL) gets under way on July 17, Friday with Galle Gallants and Jaffna Kings facing one another at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo. Jaffna Kings are the most successful franchise, winning four titles in as many seasons and will want to start with the same reputation. The defending champions also have a variety of players needed to not only start the season with the bang but to also win the title.

Kings will be led by the dynamic and free-flowing stroke maker in Bhanuka Rajapaksa. Along with Rajapaksa, likes of Avishka Fernando, Ibrahim Zadran and Dipendra Singh make for a strong batting unit. Shakib Al Hasan could be unavailable for the first game, given the ...