Colombo, Nov 23 (IANS): The second edition of the Lanka Premier League 2021 will be officiated by a highly recognised Match Referee Panel and an Umpiring Panel, respectively, consisting of Chief Match Referee of the ICC, Ranjan Madugalle, and ICC Elite Panel Umpire Kumar Dharmasena.

This is the second consecutive time both officials will be operating in the league, which is Sri Lanka's topmost domestic T20 tournament, with an international flavor.

Madugalle, a member of the ICC elite panel of match referees have refereed in eight ICC Cricket World Cups, including the finals of 1999, 2003, 2015, 2019, and in the recently conducted ICC Men's T20 World Cup and will be joined by Graeme Labrooy and Wendell Labrooy, who are members of the International Panel of ICC Match Referees.

Manoj Mendis, a First-Class match referee of Sri Lanka too will join the Panel of LPL Match Referees.

In the meantime, Kumar Dharmasena is a member of the ICC Elite Panel of Umpires, who won the ICC David Shepherd Trophy for Umpire of the Year in 2012 and 2018.

Dharmasena will be joined by Ruchira Palliyaguruge, Raveendra Wimalasiri, Lyndon Hannibal, and Prageeth Rambukwella, who are members of the ICC International Panel of Umpires.

Apart from them, Deepal Gunawardena, Hemantha Botheju, Keerthi Bandara, Asanga Jayasuriya, Rohitha Kottahachchi, and Raveendra Kottahachchi, who are Level 01 Umpires officiating in Sri Lanka's First-Class domestic cricket will also take up officiating duties during the LPL.

The Lanka Premier League will commence on December 5 and will be played at the RPICS, here, whilst the league will move into MRICS, Hambantota, to work out the knock-out stage of the competition.

The final of the competition will be played on December 23.