Those playing tennis-ball cricket on the by-lanes of Hyderabad can get a chance to shine at the inaugural Indian Street Premier League (ISPL) T-10 cricket championship slated for March 2-5, 2024 in Mumbai and featuring teams from six cities, including Hyderabad.
HOD of the ISPL selection committee Jatin Paranjpe said selection would be held in the last week of January to pick about 350 players from across the six cities based on videos uploaded by candidate players of tennis-ball cricket.
“From our experience, we can easily make out who has the potential to reach the next level by having a look at the video,” he said, adding that the BCCI had nothing to do with this.
There is no age limit, but each city team should have at least one under-19 player. “Since tennis-ball cricket is quite popular in the rural areas, we expect our talent-scouting team to reach our first target of tapping the two-tier cities,” Paranjpe said. The base price of each player at the ISPL auctions will be ₹3 lakh and the maximum ₹50 lakh, he said.
“The selection will be monitored by Pravin Amre (former India cricketer) and me, and we are confident that the ISPL would be a perfect platform for all those wanting to make it big and they have great examples in Mohd Siraj from this very city, Umesh Yadav and even Umran Malik of Jammu and Kashmir,” Paranjpe said.
Former cricketer S.K. Kamaruddin, also involved in the ISPL, said all the tennis-ball players do have the talent and skills to make it big. Players can visit ‘www.ispl-T-20.com’ for more details.
