Hyderabad: Phase Two of the Telangana T20 League is set to start on the third of next month with selected players from the current leg graduating to bigger teams that comprise the old combined districts.
The owners of those teams were unveiled at a press conference addressed by G. Vivekanand, president of the Hyderabad Cricket Association on Friday. “This tournament is designed to popularise the game in rural areas of the State and draw them into mainstream cricket,” Vivek said.
Two former Ranji Trophy cricketers — V. Chamundeswarnath and Vanka Prathap — figure among the owners.
The owners have been selected on a first-come-first-served basis (as the response was not quite overwhelming) after submitting an Expression of Interest to the notice published on the HCA website and other dailies. They will pay a franchise fee of Rs 12.5 lakh each to the HCA for the one-year contract that also includes a right to refusal clause, officials said.
The following individuals, institutions and firms have been declared owners of different teams: Hyderabad (Srinidhi Group of Institutions — Abhijit Rao and Vikram Rao), Ranga Reddy (V. Chamundeswarnath and D. Suresh Babu), Nalgonda (Terminus Ventures, represented by S. P. Reddy), Adilabad (Meztli, represented by Gautam Reddy), Khammam (Tiraa by Tibarumal Jewellers, represented by Pankaj Gupta), Nizamabad (Fenoplast, represented by Krishna Kumar), Mahbubnagar (MLR Institute of Technology, represented by Rajasekhar Reddy), Medak (Akshara Educational and Indwell Group — Jagan Rao), Karimnagar (UR Smart Industries, represented by C. Sunil Reddy, Upender and Vanka Prathap) and Warangal (Medico Healthcare Services, represented by Sharat Reddy).
The full names and colours of the teams will be decided shortly, officials said.
Performers from matches held in respective clusters (31 districts) will be picked in the 10 teams to which eight marquee players (those who have played for Hyderabad from the U-16 level and upwards) will be added by a draw of lots.
The prize money of the tournament is set at Rs 40 lakh with the winner taking Rs 15 lakh, the runner-up getting half of it and the remaining being given away to places and individual performances.
