The week-long fiesta, with the grand finale on September 25, will see 24 teams from across India fighting it out for a total prize money of over Rs 1.5 lakh, apart from individual awards for the Man of the match, Best bowler, Best batsman and the Best catch.
The tournament, which has the approval of the Karnataka State Cricket Association, will be played on matting wickets in the knockout and league stages while a turf wicket will be used for the semifinals and the final.
The initial knockout stage will comprise six groups of four teams each battling it out in two rounds. Six teams will then qualify for the league play-off, which starts on September 22, where two groups of three teams each will vie for semifinal slots. The semifinals and the summit clash will be day-night affairs and will take place at the NRA grounds in Jayamahal Extension.
Some top outstation colleges including Loyola College (Chennai), Maharajas College (Kochi), Jadavpur University (Kolkata) and SDM College, Mangalore will slug it out with the likes of Christ University, St Joseph’s College, hosts Jain University, and RV College of Engineering from Bangalore.
With such top colleges in the fray, a keen competition is expected to be seen in the tournament. However, there will be more to grab for the participants.
As motivation for young cricketers, the tournament will have cash prizes in each round. Each member of the winning team in the first round will get Rs 300, Rs 500 in the second, Rs 600 in the league round, Rs 1000 for the semifinal and Rs 2000 in the final. The biggest incentive would be for the man of the series, who will be awarded a motorcycle as bumper prize.
The knockout and league stages will have four matches in a day, two each at St John’s A and B grounds, with the first match starting at 8.30 am while the second begins at 12.30 pm.
The tournament will be played according to standard international T20 rules. KSCA approved red balls will be used for the knockout stage while the league matches, semifinals and final will be played with white balls.
