'Mumbai T20' to be played in December, January

Dilip Vengsarkar

The much-awaited Twenty20 league of Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) will be named Mumbai T20. The six-team tournament will be played in two parts - first in late December and the second half in January.


Dilip Vengsarkar

"We have decided to name the tournament 'Mumbai T20'. It will be all about Mumbai cricket. From players to coaches, support staff and even commentators will be from Mumbai. The idea is to give as many opportunities to those from Mumbai," MCA vice-president Dilip Vengsarkar, who is heading the league, told mid-day yesterday.

A presentation will be made to the Managing Committee members today at MCA's Bandra Kurla Complex club to update them about Mumbai T20. All matches will be played at BKC under lights.

"We will hold an auction soon. The base price for a team is Rs 1 crore. A salary cap for a player is R40 lakh, including for the icon players. Around 200 players will go into the auction. Those registered with the MCA and Mumbai state players will be eligible to play in Mumbai T20. Mumbai players who have gone to play for other states won't be eligible to participate in the tournament," Vengsarkar informed.

Rohit, Rahane to play
Vengsarkar confirmed that India players Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane would be among the six icon players. "Rohit and Ajinkya have confirmed their availability. Zaheer Khan will be the other icon player. Aditya Tare (Mumbai skipper) is also there. We will give plenty of quality options to the team owners to choose from. We have a great bunch of players, coaches and support staff," he said.

Vengsarkar said a lot of broadcasters have shown interest in the league. "We will finalise that (the broadcaster) in the Managing Committee. There will be two matches played in a day," he said. Instead of an opening ceremony, Vengsarkar is planning to hold a celebrity match between Bollywood filmstars and Marathi actors to kick off the event. "It is still in the pipeline," he informed.