Telugu Warriors Sporting Adventure Pvt. Ltd. (TWSA), the former owners of the ‘Dambulla Viiking’ franchise in the Lanka Premier League (LPL) has claimed unprofessional deals led to it being unfairly removed as the franchise owner.
Issuing a statement, TWSA accused the official right holders of the LPL, Innovative Production Group (IPG) FZE of engaging in unprofessional deals on multiple occasions.
TWSA said it was signed as one of the official Franchisee holders of “Dambulla Viiking” in the LPL for the term of 2020-2025 and had invested USD 900,000 in personal funds during the first edition of the LPL in 2020.
Stating that IPG had illegally terminated the Franchisee Agreement with TWSA accusing it of a breach of Agreement, TWSA said it had resulted in heavy financial and reputation damages for the firm.
The termination was done without providing TWSA a fair chance to rectify the breach of Agreement or prior notice, it said.
TWSA said the IPG had thereafter offered ownership of the Dambulla and Colombo teams of the LPL and had withdrawn both offers mid- communication and without prior notice.
The Telugu Warriors Sporting Adventure Pvt. Ltd. expressed its displeasure in being misled repeatedly by IPG with regard to the tournament.
TWSA further expressed hope that Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and IPG will address the issues and unfair treatment faced by the firm.
Meanwhile, CEO of IPG Anil Mohan told the media today that they were forced to remove TWSA as its owner had been arrested in India.
Stating that as it was deemed as having a negative impact on the LPL brand and also due to issues with the International Cricket Council’s Anti- Corruption Unit, he said a decision was taken to remove TWSA from the tournament. (NewsWire)