The Twenty-20 (T-20) tournament, which is all set to kick off on Friday, is likely to prove to be a launch pad for local talent as selectors for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy will keep a close watch on the game and players’ performance .
Around 15 players, who have played in the Indian Premier League (IPL), will also participate in the tournament that is being organised by the Ludhiana district cricket association.
Former international player and member of the organising committee Bhupinder Singh (senior) said, “The tournament will open several doors for young talent, who may get a chance to play for Punjab or in prestigious tournaments organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Indian Premier League (IPL). Many players have secured a berth in the Indian cricket team on the basis of their performance in IPL.”
“Local players will get a chance to play with state-level players, including those who had performed in the IPL with international players,”said Bhupinder.“Mandeep Singh, Gurkirat Singh Mann, Sandeep Sharma, Barinder Sran, Anmolpreet Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Harpreet Brar, Prabhsimran Singh, who had represented different IPL teams will participate in the tournament. The local players will learn a lot from them,” he said.
Former Ranji Trophy player and Ludhiana District Cricket Association president Satish Kumar Mangal said the tournament will be played with the rules set by the BCCI, which will give exposure to young talent.
{{/usCountry}}Former Ranji Trophy player and Ludhiana District Cricket Association president Satish Kumar Mangal said the tournament will be played with the rules set by the BCCI, which will give exposure to young talent.
{{/usCountry}}Association general secretary Sunny Bhalla said the MC had agreed to allot six acres of land for the stadium. “We have requested another four acres of land for the Players Cricket Association (PCA ) to make the stadium in Ludhiana a world-class one.”
The inaugural edition of the state-level league-cum-knockout T-20 cricket tournament, which starts on Friday will go on till December 27. The tournament carries a cash prize of ₹1.50 lakh for the winning team and ₹75,000 for the runner-up.
Bhupinder said the top eight teams from Punjab – including Punjab Reds, Punjab Blues, Patiala Colts HRCF, Ludhiana Eleven, Jalandhar Eleven, Mohali legends, Malwa Heroes and Amandeep Cricket Club, Amritsar, are participating in the cricket tournament, which will see 15 matches at GRD Academy grounds, Humbran Road, Ludhiana and Hara Cricket Academy ground, Badhowal village, and Ferozepur Road, Ludhiana.Each team will play three league matches and the top two teams from each group will clash in the semi-finals and subsequent winners will figure in the final match.
Satish Kumar Mangal, former Ranji Trophy player, and president Ludhiana district cricket association (LDCA) said the T-20 cricket tournament is all set to become an annual feature in the PCA calendar and will go a long way in emergence of new heroes on the state cricket scene.
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