Sri Lanka Cricket Removes Social Media Followers Rule
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has officially abandoned the controversial requirement for players to have a minimum number of social media followers to qualify for elite categories in the Lanka Premier League (LPL) Season Six. This decision follows strong criticism from fans and cricket experts who argued that player selection should be based on skill and performance rather than online popularity.
The revised Player Registration and Draft Guide for LPL Season 6, released by Sri Lanka Cricket on Saturday, no longer includes the previous mandates that players in the Icon and Star categories must possess at least 250,000 followers on their social media accounts. Similarly, the Gold category requirement of 150,000 minimum social media followers has also been removed.
These follower thresholds were initially introduced in the draft document unveiled just a day before the announcement, linking commercial appeal and player classification to the size of their social media fanbase. However, this approach quickly sparked backlash across social media platforms and sports communities.
Critics highlighted the inconsistency in SLC’s policies, noting that while players were earlier advised to reduce social media engagement to focus on cricket, the new rule appeared to prioritize social media presence over cricketing credentials. Analysts and supporters of the reversal stressed that selections for Sri Lanka’s premier T20 tournament should primarily focus on players’ abilities and experience in the sport.
The original social media follower requirement met with significant disapproval, prompting calls for the cricket board to maintain traditional merit-based selection standards. The swift removal of this stipulation reflects the governing body’s responsiveness to public sentiment and a reaffirmation of performance as the central criterion for player categorization.
The Lanka Premier League remains a key platform for both national and international cricketers, and this policy change is expected to ensure that player evaluations remain firmly rooted in cricketing performance rather than social media metrics.