In pictures: Top stars to watch out for in Lanka Premier League

Shahid Afridi, now 40, will be one of the biggest draws of the brand new league after a number of late pullouts like Chris Gayle or Lasith Malinga. The former Pakistan captain, once a dominant force in white ball cricket, will be a part of the Galle Gladiators. The five teams in fray are Colombo Kings, Kandy Tuskers, Jaffna Stallions, Galle Gladiators, and Dambulla Hawks – who will figures 20 league fixtures before a play-offs stage. The tournament will be held in a single venue, Hambantota, for safety protocol against COVID-19 pandemic and will be held from November 26 to December 17.

Irfan Pathan (centre), seen in action in Indian Premier League, qualified to get the permission from Indian cricket board to play in an overseas T20 franchise league following his retirement earlier this year. The former Indian allrounder, who moulded himself after Pakistan great Wasim Akram, could be an asset for the Kandy Tuskers with both bat and ball.

Shoaib Malik, a former Pakistan captain who had been a part of the last PSL, will be turning out for Jaffna Stallions. The Stallions would hope he brings all his experience to the fore and helps them win matches in the tournament. An extremely shrewd cricketing brain, Malik is flexible with his batting positions and can bowl some tidy off-spin.

Angelo Matthews, the Sri Lankan veteran, will be leading the Colombo Kings in the tournament. Expectations would be high on his shoulders and it would be interesting to see how he manages to live up to it after the long break due to the pandemic.

Carlos Brathwaite can win you matches single-handed, as the West Indies team management will vouch for after his last-over heroics in 2016 World T20. The gentle giant will be featuring for the Dambulla Hawks. The 'Hawks' would hope the former West Indies captain and allrounder fires quickly in the short league to help the franchise to a quick start.

Andre Russell, or 'Dre-Russ' may not have quite lived up to the expectations in the last IPL, but he is easily one of the most destructive players in T20 franchise cricket. Watch out for him as he will turn out for Colombo Kings - both for the fireworks with the bat and intelligent slow medium pace bowling.