Pakistan captain, Babar Azam, expressed his anticipation for building a formidable team ahead of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) auction. 

The Colombo Strikers have already acquired the services of Babar, Pakistan pacer Naseem Shah, and Sri Lanka T20I players Matheesha Pathirana and Chamika Karunaratne.

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"The auction is the most important aspect in any franchise cricket tournament. We have spoken about the kind of players we need, and we'll definitely look to form the strongest side in the tournament," Babar said as quoted by Colombo Strikers.

The auction is set to take place on June 14, 2023, while the tournament will take place from July 30 to August 22, 2023.

Every participating team in the tournament will comprise a total of 20 players, consisting of 14 Sri Lankan and six overseas.

The teams will play each other twice in the round-robin stage, with the top four teams advancing to the playoffs.

Pre-signed players ahead of auction:

• Colombo Strikers: Babar Azam, Matheesha Pathirana. Naseem Shah, Chamika Karunaratne
• Dambulla Aura: Mathews Wade, Kusal Mendis, Lungi Ngidi, Avishka Fernando
• Jaffna Kings: David Miller, Thisara Perera, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Maheesh Theekshana
• Kandy Falcons: Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Wanindu Hasaranga, Fakhar Zaman, Angelo Mathews
• Galle Gladiators: Shakib Al Hasan, Dasun Shanaka, Tabraiz Shamsi, Bhanuka Rajapaksa