The Lanka Premier League Kandy franchise has new owners as Safexpay Founder & CEO Ravi Gupta and Vernost Director Pankaj Tripathi enters the second season of the premier T20 tournament of the Island Nation by acquiring the Kandy-based franchise in the tournament.
Ravi Gupta is the founder and CEO of Safexpay, which is a Mumbai-headquartered fintech focused on solving problems for businesses who need to either accept online payments from or make payouts to various stakeholders. Safexpay has a strong presence in India, UAE and Singapore. “The Lanka Premier League garnered a lot of interest from some of the biggest stars and the cricket fans from around the world in the first season and therefore I am absolutely delighted to enter the tournament as the co-owner of the Kandy franchise this year."
Meanwhile, Pankaj Tripathi, director of Vernost Technologies LLC said, “We are ecstatic to be a part of the Lanka Premier League as the co-owner of the Kandy franchise. The LPL has caught the imagination of cricket fans from around the world and we wanted to be a part of the amazing competition in the upcoming seasons. We are eagerly looking forward to engaging with the fans and having a cracker of a season."
Welcoming the new owners, Mr Anil Mohan, Founder and CEO of Dubai-based production giant IPG, the official promoter of LPL, said, “It’s a huge honour and privilege for me to welcome Safexpay Founder and CEO Mr Ravi Gupta and Vernost Director Pankaj Tripathi as the owners of the Kandy franchise."
The new owners of the Kandy franchise are expecting to construct a strong team for the second season of the LPL in the Player’s Draft, which is set to be held on 27 October 2021.
The inaugural edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) which was played in a bio-secure bubble at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium in Hambantota from November 26 till December 16, 2020, reached a cumulative audience of 557 million people through TV, digital-social space, and traditional media outlets.
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