Jaffna Kings in 2021

The Jaffna Kings (often abbreviated as JK) is a franchise cricket team which competes in 2021 Lanka Premier League (LPL). The team is based in Jaffna, Northern Province, Sri Lanka. In September 2021, Jaffna Stallions changed their name to Jaffna Kings having new owners (Lyca Group).^[1] The team was captained by Thisara Perera and coached by Thilina Kandamby.^[2][3] They were defending champions having won LPL 2020.^[4][5] In the final, they beat Galle Gladiators by 23 runs to win their second successive LPL title.^[6]

Jaffna Kings

2021 season
Coach	Thilina Kandamby
Captain	Thisara Perera
Tournament performance	Champions
Most runs	Avishka Fernando (312)
Most wickets	Maheesh Theekshana (16)
← 2020 2022 →

Squad

• Players with international caps are listed in bold
• Ages given as of 5 December 2021, the date the first match of the tournament was played

No.	Name	Nationality	Date of birth (age)	Batting style	Bowling style	Notes
Batsman
28	Avishka Fernando	Sri Lanka	(1998-04-05)5 April 1998 (aged 23)	Right-handed	Right-arm medium-fast
18	Shoaib Malik	Pakistan	(1982-02-01)1 February 1982 (aged 39)	Right-handed	Right-arm off break	Overseas player
44	Upul Tharanga	Sri Lanka	(1985-02-02)2 February 1985 (aged 36)	Left- handed	–
32	Tom Kohler-Cadmore	England	(1994-08-19)19 August 1994 (aged 27)	Right-handed	Right-arm off break	Overseas player
10	Ashen Bandara	Sri Lanka	(1998-11-23)23 November 1998 (aged 23)	Right-handed	Right-arm leg break
45	Ashan Randika	Sri Lanka	(1993-11-15)15 November 1993 (aged 28)	Left- handed	Right-arm medium
N/A	Shammu Ashan	Sri Lanka	(1998-01-09)9 January 1998 (aged 23)	Right-handed	Right-arm off break
All-rounders
1	Thisara Perera	Sri Lanka	(1989-04-03)3 April 1989 (aged 32)	Left-handed	Right-arm medium-fast	Captain
49	Wanindu Hasaranga	Sri Lanka	(1997-07-29)29 July 1997 (aged 24)	Right-handed	Right-arm leg break
20	Chaturanga de Silva	Sri Lanka	(1990-01-17)17 January 1990 (aged 31)	Left-handed	Slow left-arm orthodox
N/A	Theivendiram Dinoshan	Sri Lanka	26 March 2002 (aged 19)	Right-handed	Right-arm fast
N/A	Rathnaraja Thanuradan	Sri Lanka		Right-handed	Right-arm medium
Wicket-keepers
21	Rahmanullah Gurbaz	Afghanistan	(2001-11-28)28 November 2001 (aged 20)	Right-handed	–	Overseas player
N/A	Krishan Sanjula	Sri Lanka	(1998-09-30)30 September 1998 (aged 23)	Right-handed	–
Spin Bowlers
21	Maheesh Theekshana	Sri Lanka	(2000-08-01)1 August 2000 (aged 21)	Right-handed	Right-arm off break
12	Praveen Jayawickrama	Sri Lanka	(1998-09-30)30 September 1998 (aged 23)	Right-handed	Slow left-arm orthodox
55	Vijayakanth Viyaskanth	Sri Lanka	(2001-12-05)5 December 2001 (aged 20)	Right-handed	Right-arm leg break
Pace Bowlers
47	Wahab Riaz	Pakistan	(1985-06-28)28 June 1985 (aged 36)	Right-handed	Left-arm fast	Overseas player
56	Usman Shinwari	Pakistan	(1994-01-05)5 January 1994 (aged 27)	Right-handed	Left-arm fast medium	Overseas player
82	Suranga Lakmal	Sri Lanka	(1987-03-10)10 March 1987 (aged 34)	Right-handed	Right-arm fast medium
33	Jayden Seales	West Indies	(2001-09-10)10 September 2001 (aged 20)	Left-handed	Right-arm medium	Overseas player
N/A	Chamika Gunasekara	Sri Lanka	(1999-11-25)25 November 1999 (aged 22)	Right-handed	Right-arm medium-fast

Season standings

Points table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	NR	Pts	NRR
1	Jaffna Kings (C)	8	6	2	0	12	2.210
2	Galle Gladiators (R)	8	4	3	1	9	0.143
3	Colombo Stars (4th)	8	4	4	0	8	−0.571
4	Dambulla Giants (3rd)	8	3	4	1	7	−1.003
5	Kandy Warriors	8	2	6	0	4	−0.668

Source: ESPN Cricinfo

• The top four teams qualified for the playoffs
•   Advanced to Qualifier 1
•   Advanced to Eliminator

League stage

Match 1 5 December 2021 19:30 (N) Scorecard

Galle Gladiators 164/7 (20 overs)	v	Jaffna Kings 110 (18.2 overs)
Bhanuka Rajapaksa 56 (31) Jayden Seales 3/23 (4 overs)		Wahab Riaz 27 (20) Samit Patel 3/21 (4 overs)

Gale Gladiators won by 54 runs R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena and Ruchira Palliyaguruge Player of the match: Samit Patel (Galle Gladiators)

• Jaffna Kings won the toss and elected to field.

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Match 4 7 December 2021 15:00 (D/N) Scorecard

Dambulla Giants 110 (19.3 overs)	v	Jaffna Kings 114/2 (12.3 overs)
Nuwanidu Fernando 23 (25) Wanindu Hasaranga 3/16 (4 overs)		Tom Kohler-Cadmore 45* (30) Imran Tahir 1/20 (4 overs)

Jaffna Kings won by 8 wickets R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena and Ravindra Kottahachchi Player of the match: Maheesh Theekshana (Jaffna Kings)

• Dambulla Giants won the toss and elected to bat.

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Match 7 8 December 2021 19:30 (N) Scorecard

Jaffna Kings 181/6 (14 overs)	v	Kandy Warriors 166/5 (14 overs)
Thisara Perera 53 (21) Shiraz Ahmed 3/22 (3 overs)		Rovman Powell 61 (19) Jayden Seales 2/40 (3 overs)

Jaffna Kings won by 14 runs (DLS method) R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Umpires: Asanga Jayasooriya and Prageeth Rambukwella Player of the match: Suranga Lakmal (Jaffna Kings)

• Kandy Warriors won the toss and elected to field.
• Rain stopped play during Jaffna Kings innings. Kandy Warriors were set a revised target of 181 runs from 14 overs.
• Shiraz Ahmed (Kandy Warriors) made his T20 debut.

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Match 9 10 December 2021 19:30 (N) Scorecard

Jaffna Kings 207/6 (18 overs)	v	Colombo Stars 114 (15.5 overs)
Thisara Perera 57* (23) Seekkuge Prasanna 3/31 (4 overs)		Ashan Priyanjan 35 (25) Maheesh Theekshana 4/25 (4 overs)

Jaffna Kings won by 93 runs R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Umpires: Deepal Gunawardene and Ruchira Palliyaguruge Player of the match: Thisara Perera (Jaffna Kings)

• Colombo Stars won the toss and elected to field.
• The match was reduced to 18 overs per side due to rain.

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Match 12 12 December 2021 15:00 (D/N) Scorecard

Kandy Warriors 94/2 (12.2 overs)	v	Jaffna Kings 95/3 (8.4 overs)
Charith Asalanka 44* (34) Shoaib Malik 1/19 (3 overs)		Thisara Perera 29* (13) Binura Fernando 1/15 (1.4 overs)

Jaffna Kings won by 7 wickets (DLS method) R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Umpires: Lyndon Hannibal and Rohitha Kottahachchi Player of the match: Shoaib Malik (Jaffna Kings)

• Jaffna Kings won the toss and elected to field.
• Rain stopped play during Kandy Warriors innings. Jaffna Kings were set a revised target of 95 runs from 10 overs.

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Match 14 13 December 2021 19:30 (N) Scorecard

Dambulla Giants 69 (14.1 overs)	v	Jaffna Kings 71/3 (9.2 overs)
Phil Salt 23 (22) Chaturanga de Silva 4/16 (4 overs)		Wanindu Hasaranga 37 (18) Imran Tahir 2/21 (4 overs)

Jaffna Kings won by 7 wickets R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Umpires: Keerthi Bandara and Raveendra Wimalasiri Player of the match: Chaturanga de Silva (Jaffna Kings)

• Jaffna Kings won the toss and elected to field.

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Match 17 16 December 2021 15:00 (D/N) Scorecard

Jaffna Kings 193/5 (20 overs)	v	Colombo Stars 91 (15.5 overs)
Tom Kohler-Cadmore 92 (55) Naveen-ul-Haq 3/27 (4 overs)		Tom Banton 30 (33) Jayden Seales 4/13 (2.5 overs)

Jaffna Kings won by 102 runs R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Umpires: Hemantha Boteju and Prageeth Rambukwella Player of the match: Tom Kohler-Cadmore (Jaffna Kings)

• Jaffna Kings won the toss and elected to bat.

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Match 19 17 December 2021 15:00 (D/N) Scorecard

Galle Gladiators 129/8 (20 overs)	v	Jaffna Kings 109 (18.3 overs)
Bhanuka Rajapaksa 23 (25) Praveen Jayawickrama 2/13 (3 overs)		Shoaib Malik 23 (27) Noor Ahmad 2/12 (4 overs)

Galle Gladiators won by 20 runs R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Umpires: Asanga Jayasooriya and Prageeth Rambukwella Player of the match: Bhanuka Rajapaksa (Galle Gladiators)

• Galle Gladiators won the toss and elected to bat.

Playoffs

Main article: 2021 Lanka Premier League § Playoffs

Qualifier 1

Match 22 19 December 2021 20:30 (N) Scorecard

Galle Gladiators 188/5 (20 overs)	v	Jaffna Kings 124 (16.5 overs)
Kusal Mendis 85 (53) Thisara Perera 2/36 (4 overs)		Rahmanullah Gurbaz 59 (37) Nuwan Thushara 5/13 (3.5 overs)

Galle Gladiators won by 64 Runs Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, Hambantota Umpires: Ruchira Palliyaguruge and Prageeth Rambukwella Player of the match: Kusal Mendis (Galle Gladiators)

• Jaffna Kings won the toss and elected to field.

Qualifier 2

Match 23 21 December 2021 19:30 (N) Scorecard

Jaffna Kings 210/4 (20 overs)	v	Dambulla Giants 187/9 (20 overs)
Avishka Fernando 100 (64) Lahiru Samarakoon 2/30 (2 overs)		Chamika Karunaratne 75* (47) Jayden Seales 3/24 (4 overs)

Jaffna Kings won by 23 runs Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, Hambantota Umpires: Lyndon Hannibal and Prageeth Rambukwella Player of the match: Avishka Fernando (Jaffna Kings)

• Dambulla Giants won the toss and elected to field.
• Avishka Fernando (Jaffna Kings) scored his first century in Twenty20 cricket.^[7]

Final

Match 24 23 December 2021 19:30 (N) Scorecard

Jaffna Kings 201/3 (20 overs)	v	Galle Gladiators 178/9 (20 overs)
Avishka Fernando 63 (41) Samit Patel 1/32 (4 overs)		Danushka Gunathilaka 54 (21) Chaturanga de Silva 2/15 (3 overs)

Jaffna Kings won by 23 runs Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, Hambantota Umpires: Lyndon Hannibal and Raveendra Wimalasiri Player of the match: Avishka Fernando (Jaffna Kings)

• Jaffna Kings won the toss and elected to bat.

Statistics

Most runs

Player	Matches	Runs	High score
Avishka Fernando	10	312	100
Tom Kohler-Cadmore	11	296	92
Rahmanullah Gurbaz	8	207	70
Thisara Perera	11	190	57*
Shoaib Malik	10	164	44

• Source: ESPNcricinfo

Most wickets

Player	Matches	Wickets	Best bowling
Maheesh Theekshana	10	16	4/25
Jayden Seales	7	15	4/13
Wanindu Hasaranga	10	11	3/16
Wahab Riaz	5	9	4/26
Chaturanga de Silva	9	7	4/16

• Source: ESPNcricinfo