MUMBAI: India's leading SUV manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra has acquired the title partnership rights of the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL), a T20 cricket league formed on the lines of the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL).

SLPL kicks off from 11 August and will be played over three weeks at two venues - Colombo and Kandy. The inaugural edition of this League will feature seven provincial teams in a round-robin league format, with the winners having the distinction of playing in the Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20) as one of the teams in the qualifiers.

There will be 24 games in the Mahindra Sri Lanka Premier League and each team will be allowed a maximum of 18 players. Teams will be allowed to field a maximum of four foreign players per game with the remaining being local players.

The Man of the Match in all 24 matches will receive the title of "Mahindra Man of the Match" while the 'Man of the Tournament' will win himself an XUV5OO.

Sri Lanka Cricket president Upali Dharmadasa said, "Sri Lanka Cricket is proud and honoured to have on board, one of India's leading business houses as the Title Sponsor of the Sri Lanka Premier League which shall now be referred to as the Mahindra Sri Lanka Premier League.

"Since the Mahindra brand is also a household name in Sri Lanka, we believe it is the perfect platform to take the message of the Sri Lanka Premier League, which is "Gama Rata Lokeya, Eka Karana" or "Province, Country, World, Becomes One" to the world," he added.

Mahindra Group President- Group Strategy and Chief Brand Officer S.P. Shukla said, "Sri Lanka is a strategic market for the Mahindra Group which is already an established name in the country and what better medium than cricket to connect and engage with audiences as it is the most followed sport in the sub continent with a fan base of approximately 1.5 billion fans across India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh alone."

The Group's association with the Celtic football club, Canadian NASCAR, Moto GP and now the Sri Lanka Premier League underscores its continued commitment to promote sports not only at the grassroots level but also across a global platform.

The league will feature international stars like West Indian batsman, Chris Gayle and swashbuckling Pakistani all-rounder, Shahid Afridi. The League will conclude on August 31.

ESPN Star Sports has global media rights for the league while Carlton Sports Network has the terrestrial broadcast rights for the tournament.