T20 Mumbai League from January 4

Mumbai, Dec 7 (IANS) The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) on Wednesday launched its first ever T20 Mumbai League, to be held from January 4 to 9 in Mumbai.

MCA has appointed the consortium of IIFL Investment Managers and its associated companies through a special purpose entity (IIFL Group), the Lead Member of the Consortium and Wizcraft Group to plan and execute the league in its entirety, a release said.

The consortium will be represented under the name and banner of Probability Sports LLP.

The league will give a platform to Mumbai players to showcase their skills and talent and put themselves in the shop window for bigger opportunities in the IPL as well as the Indian team.

"Mumbai has considerable talent and there are a lot of local boys who are fantastic but do not get the opportunity on a bigger stage. This league will give them a chance to showcase their talent and give them an opportunity to move ahead in life," MCA President Ashish Shelar said in a statement.

The league will divide the city into six zones which are Mumbai North West, Mumbai North East, Mumbai North, Mumbai North Central, Mumbai South and Mumbai South Central respectively.

MCA will provide a list of the best Mumbai origin local club talent with several IPL players in the mix. They will be placed in a central player pool to then join the teams.

The league will consist of six teams playing on a round robin basis. The top two teams in the league with the most points accumulated will play a final match to decide the winner.

The opening ceremony will take place on January 2 and the matches will begin from January 4. There will be three matches played in a day at the Wankhede Stadium followed by the final on January 9.

Speaking at the launch, Karan Bhagat, Founder, CEO - IIFL Wealth Management Limited said: "India lives cricket and we are very excited to be part of this tremendous opportunity to create another platform for players of Mumbai to showcase their talent and shine bright."