Six-team tennis ball cricket league in T10 format to be organised in March

Mumbai: A six-team tennis ball league in T10 format comprising a total of 19 matches will be organised here from March 2-9 next year, with all games to be played inside cricket stadiums.

The league, named Indian Street Premier League (ISPL), will feature franchise-owned teams that will represent Mumbai (Maharashtra), Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh and Telangana), Bengaluru (Karnataka), Chennai (Tamil Nadu), Kolkata (West Bengal), and Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir).

With a squad limit of 16 players, each side will also have six-member support staff with an overall fee of Rs 10 lakh as well as a mentor; for example, a former Ranji Trophy player, at a fee of Rs 15 lakh. Each team will have a ‘celebrity anchor owner’.

Each franchise will have a purse of Rs 1 crore while the base price at the auction for each player will be Rs 3 lakh with no upper limit.

The player auction will be organised here on February 24.

Former India head coach and captain Ravi Shastri is the commissioner of the ISPL whereas BCCI treasurer Ashish Shelar and Mumbai Cricket Association’s (MCA) president Amol Kale are the core committee members.

“At the heart of ISPL lies the vision to empower the vast community of players who dream of playing cricket in top-tier stadiums like their idols,” the league said in a statement.