The tournament is being revived after a lapse of about 10 years.

The tournament has been reviewed with the primary objective of finding out talented players to represent Sri Lanka at the international cricket arena and to develop the standard of domestic cricket in the country.

Five teams Colombo Commandos, Galle Rangers, Hambantota Troopers, Kandy Guardians and Kurunegala Crusaders will compete for total prize money worth Rs. 3.45 million with the winners taking away Rs. One million and runner-up Rs. 750,000 in addition to attractive individual prizes. A total of 60 players representing various clubs of the country are taking part.

Milinda Siriwardena, Dinesh Chandimal, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Lahiru Thirimanne and Mahela Udawatte will captain the respective teams.

The curtain raiser of the tournament between Colombo Commandos and Galle Rangers was held at 10 am today.

Two matches will be played each day, Morning Session and Evening Session. The Morning Session match will start at 10.00 am and the Evening Session at 2.00pm. In a match where play is delayed or interrupted, the hours of play shall be extended by 15 minutes in day games.

The final on February 5 will be played under lights commencing 7.00 pm with a award of million rupees for the winning team.