No Instagram followers, no contract: Lanka Premier League raises eyebrows with new social media popularity rule

A bizarre rule, concerning social media popularity, has been introduced in the Lanka Premier League (LPL) ahead of the 2026 edition. As per the new rules, a player is mandated to have the listed number of Instagram followers to be eligible. This new rule, which has raised eyebrows, is focused on commercial appeal and social media reach apart from the player's potential on the field.

As reported by Sri Lanka's Newswire, players are only eligible for LPL's Icon (local and overseas) category if they have over 250,000 followers on social media. In terms of cricket stats, they should have played at least 75 T20Is, over 100 franchise T20 matches, and a minimum of 30 matches during the last 18 months.

The Star (local and overseas) category also has the same requirement in terms of social media following. In cricketing stats, the player should have played at least 50 T20Is, over 100 franchise T20 matches, and at least 30 matches in the last 18 months.

Players in the two categories, if selected, will receive a fee of USD 60,000-80,000.

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Meanwhile, Gold (local and overseas) category players should have a following exceeding 150,000. He should have played at least 30 T20Is, over 75 franchise T20 matches, and at least 20 matches in the last 18 months.

The social media followers guidelines for Classic category players is unspecified. As mentioned on the essential criteria, a player should have "reasonable fan base and commercial appeal". They should have played at least 20 T20Is, over 50 franchise T20 matches, and 20 matches in the past 18 months.

Lanka Premier League's online presence

The set of new guidelines come at a time when Lanka Premier League's official social media pages have mostly remained inactive. The count was 38.2K followers on X, and 99.2K followers on Instagram, at the time while writing the article.

It also marks as one of the rarest instance in the history of franchise cricket leagues.

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LPL 2026: Tournament dates and venues

The sixth edition of LPL is set to be played between July and August 2026 and will be held across four venues - SSC, Colombo; RPICS, Colombo; PICS, Pallekele; and RDICS, Dambulla.

The tournament will be conducted by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), the owner of the LPL, in partnership with The IPG Group, the event rights holder.

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