Five foreign players, including Andre Russell, Faf du Plessis and David Miller have withdrawn from the Lanka Premier League (LPL) less than a week after they were drafted into franchise teams.
Miller, du Plessis and Dawid Malan have become unavailable because of the limited-overs series between South Africa and England, set to begin on November 27. Russell, meanwhile, has pulled out due to injury, according to Sri Lanka Cricket. Manvinder Bisla, the fifth player to exit the tournament, is not believed to have provided a reason though. The LPL is scheduled to start on November 21 and run until December 13.
"The franchises that had these players will have to negotiate with other players to take their place," LPL director Ravin Wickramaratne told ESPNcricinfo. Russell, Miller, du Plessis and Malan had all been selected as marquee players, which means the franchises are not bound by the constraints of the draft payment structure when they seek new players.