03 April,2011 07:45 AM IST | | Varun Singh
While the cricketing world will be cheering for the Indian Premier League (IPL) come April 8, the Kutchi community will have another reason to cheer. A Kutchi Premier League (KCL) will be formed on the lines of the Indian Premier League. The players and team owners are all expected to come from the community that hails from the Kutch region in Gujarat.
Ketan Sanghvi (fourth from left) organised the Kutchi Cricket League
at his office in Sewri with his friends. pic/ Sayed Sameer Abedi
Team auctions are expected to be held today. There will be 16 teams and each owner will own two teams. The team of experienced players is named Elite, and those with fresh talent is called Plate.
Points have been awarded to players based on earlier performances in the tournaments organised by the Kutchi Samaj. Organiser Ketan Sanghvi, said, "Kutchi Visa Oswal Samaj (KVO) tournaments have been held regularly. We decided to take it a step further, as our players had made us proud by participating and winning bigger tournaments."
The plan took shape a month ago, and organisers invited entries from players and team owners. They received a tremendous responseu00a0-- nearly 300 entries poured in, which led the organisers to increase the number of teams in the league to 16.
The matches are expected to start by the end of this month at the Matunga sports complex. However, the organisers haven't included any money in the auction, although players will be paid. "As this is our first time, we aren't charging the owners any money. We are even providing the players with all the gear including jerseys," said Sanghvi. The auction will take place at Mahajan Wadi, Chinchpokli, on Sunday evening.
