MUMBAI: The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has announced the launch of its first ever T20 Mumbai League.
The Mumbai T20 league is a new cricket platform instituted by the MCA, for which they have appointed the consortium of IIFL Investment Managers and its associated companies through a special purpose entity (IIFL Group), the Lead Member of the Consortium and Wizcraft Group to plan, execute the league in its entirety. The consortium will be represented under the name and banner of Probability Sports LLP.
The MumbaiT20 league will divide the city into six zones – Mumbai North West, Mumbai North East, Mumbai North, Mumbai North Central, Mumbai South and Mumbai South Central respectively. MCA will provide a list of the best Mumbai origin local club talent with several IPL players in the mix. They will be placed in a central player pool to then join the teams and give Mumbai the greatest experience of its most popular sport.
The league will consist of six teams playing on a round robin basis (all play all). The top two teams in the league with the most points accumulated will play a final match to decide the 1st year winner. The Opening Ceremony will take place on the 2 January 2018 and the matches will be played from 4 January to 9 January, with three matches played in a day at the Wankhede Stadium.
The vision of the League, that aims to become a feeder to the IPL teams, plans to identify local talent from within the city of Mumbai and give them an opportunity to pursue their dreams while representing their respective zones. This will give a platform to Mumbai players to showcase their skills and talent and put themselves in the shop window for bigger opportunities in the IPL as well as the Indian team.
Bollywood star Saif Ali Khan was present on the occasion to flag off the league at the MCA on Thursday.
MCA president Ashish Shelar said, “Mumbai has considerable talent and there are a lot of local boys who are fantastic but do not get the opportunity on a bigger stage. This league will give them a chance to showcase their talent and give them an opportunity to move ahead in Life.”
Speaking at the launch, Karan Bhagat, Founder, CEO – IIFL Wealth Management Limited said “India lives cricket and we are very excited to be part of this tremendous opportunity to create another platform for players of Mumbai to showcase their talent and shine bright”.
“This league will give us an opportunity to unearth new faces, new energies and new leaders from across the city. Importantly, the T20Mumbai would provide the perfect platform for Cricket and entertainment to merge together on home ground. Wizcraft International has always endeavoured to create and support ideas that are unique and larger than life and T20Mumbai is no different. We look forward to making this a grand spectacle”, said Sabbas Joseph, Founder-Director, Wizcraft International.
