Official Auction Report

SLTPL 2026 Player Auction
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Complete statistical breakdown of the Sri Lanka Tennis Premier League player auction — 148 registered players, 8 franchise squads, and a near-total purse burn on the auction floor.

🔨 Hammer Total  LKR 5,970,000
148Players Registeredacross 4 categories
57Players Sold38.5% sell-through
LKR 5.97MTotal Spendof 6.0M combined purse
99.5%Purse Utilisedonly 30K left league-wide
385KRecord Bid15.4× base price
104.7KAvg Sold Pricemedian 70K
01

The Gavel Board — Top 10 Buys

Every marquee sale opened at a base of LKR 25,000 (15,000 for U15) — the bidding wars multiplied them up to 15× over.

01
Sold
Muzammil murtaza
🇵🇰 Men's Open · Age 26
385,000 LKR
→ Jaffna Flamingos
15.4× base
02
Sold
Yuhansa Peiris
🇱🇰 Women's Open · Age 15
335,000 LKR
→ Weligama Warriors
13.4× base
03
Sold
Aqeel khan
🇵🇰 Men's Open · Age 46
325,000 LKR
→ Colombo Chargers
13.0× base
04
Sold
Akeesha Silva
🇱🇰 Women's Open · Age 16
310,000 LKR
→ Negombo IQONS
12.4× base
05
Sold
Sandithi Usgoda Arachchi
🇱🇰 Women's Open · Age 16
310,000 LKR
→ Batticaloa ACES
12.4× base
06
Sold
Thehan Wijemanne
🇱🇰 Men's Open · Age 22
310,000 LKR
→ Kandy Kings
12.4× base
07
Sold
Dhilvan Herath
🇱🇰 Men's Open · Age 22
300,000 LKR
→ Negombo IQONS
12.0× base
08
Sold
Annaya Norbet
🇱🇰 Women's Open · Age 15
285,000 LKR
→ Colombo Chargers
11.4× base
09
Sold
Sharmal Dissanayake
🇱🇰 Men's Open · Age 30
230,000 LKR
→ Weligama Warriors
9.2× base
10
Sold
Barkat ullah
🇵🇰 Men's Open · Age 28
205,000 LKR
→ Batticaloa ACES
8.2× base
02

The Purse Race — Franchise Spending

All eight franchises spent to the ceiling of their LKR 750,000 purse — the real divergence is strategy: Nuwara-Eliya bought depth (11 players, avg 68K), while Weligama, Negombo and Jaffna went all-in on stars (5 players, avg ~150K).

Spend vs squad size
N-Eliya Highlanders 750K 11Kurunegala Royals 750K 10Colombo Chargers 750K 6Weligama Warriors 750K 5Negombo IQONS 750K 5Kandy Kings 745K 8Jaffna Flamingos 740K 5Batticaloa ACES 735K 7
Spend (LKR)Players bought
Squad strategy — avg price per player
Weligama Warriors 150KNegombo IQONS 150KJaffna Flamingos 148KColombo Chargers 125KBatticaloa ACES 105KKandy Kings 93KKurunegala Royals 75KN-Eliya Highlanders 68K
Stars strategy  ⟶  fewer players, higher average
03

Category Economics

Women's Open was the hottest market — the smallest pool (18 registered) but the highest sell-through (67%) and the highest average price. U15 Boys had the deepest pool and the toughest odds.

Registered vs sold — sell-through by category
Men's Open 22/52 sold · avg 133K 42%U15 Boys 11/51 sold · avg 62K 22%U15 Girls 12/27 sold · avg 52K 44%Women's Open 12/18 sold · avg 145K 67%
RegisteredSold
Where the money went — spend share
5.97M TOTAL LKR Men's Open 2.92M · 49% Women's Open 1.75M · 29% U15 Boys 0.69M · 11% U15 Girls 0.62M · 10%
04

Price Distribution

A classic auction curve: a broad base of value picks under 100K carrying the squads, and a premium tier of eight players commanding 250K+ — those eight alone absorbed 41% of all money spent.

Sold players by final price band (LKR)
13 ≤25K 12 25–50K 14 50–100K 5 100–150K 5 150–250K 8 250K+41% OF ALL SPEND
05

Records & Storylines

🏆 Record Hammer

Muzammil Murtaza (PAK, Men's Open) — LKR 385,000 to Jaffna Flamingos, a league-record 15.4× his base.

🌟 Local Star

Yuhansa Peiris, just 15, became the priciest Sri Lankan at LKR 335,000 — Weligama Warriors' Women's Open captain-grade pick.

✈️ Foreign Legion

All 4 foreign players sold — 3 Pakistani + 1 Indian, all Men's Open — pulling a combined LKR 1,025,000 (17% of total spend).

👶 Age Spread

Youngest sold: Zacharia Akbar, 11 (Highlanders). Oldest: Aqeel Khan, 46 (Chargers) — a 35-year span on one floor.

♀ Women's Premium

Women's Open averaged LKR 145,417 per sale — the highest of any category, beating even Men's Open (132,727).

💎 Value Picks

12 players went at exactly base price — smart late-purse pickups that filled category quotas for as little as LKR 15,000.

07

Age-Wise Applicants & Selection Rate

The auction rewarded the extremes. Veterans over 30 had the best odds on the floor (71% sold — experience sells), followed by the 15–18 Open prospects (57%). The 11–13 juniors faced the toughest market: only 3 of 21 found a franchise.

Applied vs sold by age band
11–13 yrs U15 categories 21 applied 3 sold 14.3%13–15 yrs U15 categories 57 applied 20 sold 35.1%15–18 yrs Open categories 28 applied 16 sold 57.1%18–30 yrs Open categories 35 applied 13 sold 37.1%30+ yrs Open categories 7 applied 5 sold 71.4%
AppliedSold≥50% selection<30% selection
08

Play Hand & Game Style Composition

Southpaws are the auction's rarest asset — only 6 of 57 sold players are left-handed, and Kurunegala & Kandy grabbed two each. Style-wise, Nuwara-Eliya built a baseline-heavy attack (6 aggressive base-liners), Kandy leaned all-court versatility, and Kurunegala assembled the most balanced arsenal — the only squad with all four game styles.

Game style mix per squad · left-hand advantage
N-Eliya Highlanders641 All right-handedKurunegala Royals3421 2 LH · 8 RHKandy Kings251 2 LH · 6 RHBatticaloa ACES34 All right-handedColombo Chargers24 All right-handedJaffna Flamingos32 1 LH · 4 RHNegombo IQONS32 All right-handedWeligama Warriors221 1 LH · 4 RH
Aggressive Base-linerAll Court PlayerConsistent KillerNet RusherLeft-handers (LH)

🎾 League DNA

The league is 89% right-handed (51 RH / 6 LH). Half the squads — ACES, Chargers, IQONS & Highlanders — bought no lefty at all, a tactical gap opponents can plan around.

🧰 Most Complete Toolkit

Kurunegala Royals is the only franchise fielding all four styles — base-liners, all-courters, a net rusher and two consistent killers, plus 2 of the league's 6 lefties.

⚔️ Style Identity

Highlanders are the baseline-grinding squad (6 of 11), while Kandy Kings bet on versatility — 5 of 8 players are all-court types.

09

Strongest Squad — Ranking Power Index

Each player's best national ranking converts to points (101 − rank), summed per squad — rewarding elite rank and ranked depth together. Overseas pros carry no Sri Lankan ranking, so they are scored on an equivalent national rank from their international credentials: Aqeel Khan (career ATP 349, Pakistan #1 for 24 years) and Muzammil Murtaza (Pakistan #1 singles & doubles, ATP 1350) rate as eq. #1 = 100 pts; Irfan Husain (India top-30 in a far deeper pool, 4 national titles in 2026, wins over ATP-level pros) as eq. #2 = 99 pts; Barkat Ullah (Pakistan #3, ATP-ranked, Davis Cup 2023–24) as eq. #3 = 98 pts. The orange bar tip shows each squad's overseas contribution.

Squad ranking points (local + international) · ranked depth · marquee player
🥇 N-Eliya Highlanders 11/11 ranked (incl. intl) · avg best #5.1 1055 ⭐ Methvan Wijemanne · MD #1 + ✈ Irfan Husain (IND top-30)🥈 Kurunegala Royals 10/10 ranked (incl. intl) · avg best #8.7 923 ⭐ Ganuka Fernando · U18 #1🥉 Kandy Kings 7/8 ranked (incl. intl) · avg best #7.4 655 ⭐ Tuvini De Alwis · WD #14 Batticaloa ACES 6/7 ranked (incl. intl) · avg best #7.7 560 ⭐ Mayooran Kubherane · U16 #1 + ✈ Barkat Ullah (PAK #3)5 Colombo Chargers 6/6 ranked (incl. intl) · avg best #9.7 548 ⭐ ✈ Aqeel Khan (ATP 349 · PAK #1, 2000–24)6 Negombo IQONS 5/5 ranked (incl. intl) · avg best #4.4 483 ⭐ Ashlin De Silva · U16 #27 Weligama Warriors 5/5 ranked (incl. intl) · avg best #13.6 437 ⭐ Yuhansa Peiris · U16 #18 Jaffna Flamingos 3/5 ranked (incl. intl) · avg best #3.0 294 ⭐ ✈ Muzammil Murtaza (PAK #1 · ATP 1350)
Local ranking pointsOverseas equivalent points

👑 Strongest Squad

N-Eliya Highlanders — 1,055 pts. The only franchise combining elite depth (10 locally ranked, 5 in the national top 3) with an international ace: India top-30 Irfan Husain — arguably the auction's best value at just LKR 110K.

📈 Overseas Effect

Foreign scoring reshuffles the mid-table: Batticaloa ACES climb to 4th (Barkat Ullah) and Chargers to 5th — Aqeel Khan alone contributes 18% of their power. Jaffna jump 51% in points but stay 8th on thin local depth.

🎯 Pound-for-Pound

Jaffna Flamingos now own the league's best average rank (#3.0) — Muzammil, Damsath & co. are all elite — but only 3 ranked players in a 5-man squad keeps the depth risk real.

10

Franchise Squads — Full Auction Haul

Every player secured at the 2026 auction, by franchise, sorted by price. The gold bar shows purse utilisation.

Men's OpenWomen's OpenU15 BoysU15 Girls
Nuwara-Eliya Highlanders11 players · 750K · 100.0%
Revaan Amarasinghe165K
Methvan Wijemanne135K
Irfan Husain 🇮🇳110K
Rehan Gunawardhana90K
Sahansa Damsiluni70K
Nevan Kannangara45K
Taalia Silva40K
Diyansa De silva30K
Gehansa Methnadi25K
Disini Yalinma Nellampitiya Samaraweera25K
Zacharia Akbar15K
Kurunegala Royals10 players · 750K · 100.0%
GANUKA FERNANDO200K
Saha Kapilasena185K
Bianca Acquistapace140K
Eshan Savant Jayaweera Bandara50K
SANUJA BUDDHIKA WIJESOORIYA40K
Ganeshan Jennifer mercy35K
W.W.A.Sheshandri fernando30K
Chehan Fernando25K
Lihini Gayathma Jayakody25K
Jayan Sebestian20K
Colombo Chargers6 players · 750K · 100.0%
Aqeel khan 🇵🇰325K
Annaya Norbet285K
Sethuli Sithnadi Muthugama75K
Akaash De Silva25K
Lithum Jayabandu25K
Yudheerya Atapattu15K
Weligama Warriors5 players · 750K · 100.0%
Yuhansa Peiris335K
Sharmal Dissanayake230K
Chirath Subasinghe100K
Aahil Kaleel55K
Risindi Hewawasam30K
Negombo IQONS5 players · 750K · 100.0%
Akeesha Silva310K
Dhilvan Herath300K
Eliza Kahagalla75K
Ashlin De Silva50K
Shannon Nathan Senadheera15K
Kandy Kings8 players · 745K · 99.3%
Thehan Wijemanne310K
Dehan Chanthula Wickramasinghe85K
Savini Jayasuriya85K
KODIKARARACHCHIGE NAVYA HEMANGIE ABEYSIRIWARDENA BANAGALA80K
Mineth Nawarathna70K
Methuli Mehansa Naotunne55K
Tuvini De Alwis35K
Methika wickramasinghe25K
Jaffna Flamingos5 players · 740K · 98.7%
Muzammil murtaza 🇵🇰385K
Janali Manamperi140K
Damsath Peiris110K
Samaira Fernando80K
Arvind Fernando25K
Batticaloa ACES7 players · 735K · 98.0%
Sandithi Usgoda Arachchi310K
Barkat ullah 🇵🇰205K
Udeera Gunasinghe70K
Jaitra De Saram60K
Mayooran Kubherane40K
Sayuri Mututhanthiri35K
Hasandi Jayasinghe15K