Highlights
- IPL-style Melbourne Premier League to kickstart on 1 August
- A total of 32 teams will play in the 11-weeks long tournament
- The not-for-profit initiative will see participation from seasoned players from multicultural communities
IPL is arguably the best franchise-based T20 tournaments worldwide.
The lucrative league, which was introduced in 2008, has now inspired a Melbourne-based group to launch its own T20 league in a first-of-its-kind effort supported by Cricket Victoria.
'Dream to bring players and cricket lovers together'
In an interview with SBS Punjabi, Manpreet Singh Sandhu, who is leading the initiative and is a seasoned cricket player, said it was his dream to bring players and cricket lovers together in a fast-paced league similar to IPL that serves as both entertainment and a long-term strategy to develop the sport at the grassroots level.
"The format of the Melbourne Premier League or MPL will be similar to that of the Indian Premier League. A lot of time, effort and resources have been invested into this effort to make it successful. We are being supported by the City of Casey council and Cricket Victoria, both of whom lending full support to this league," he said.
A total of 127 matches will be played between 32 teams of professional players from various communities, including Indian, Afghanistani, Bangladeshi, and Sri Lankan. The tournament is slated to kick start on 1 August and end on 10 October.
Melbourne Premier League is formatted on the lines of IPL, says the organiser Manpreet Singh.Photo: Manpreet Singh Source: Manpreet Singh
"We approached various teams and clubs in the area and found that they were really excited to play the league, which prompted us to include more teams to encourage wider community participation.
"Each player will get his own profile, and every match will be recorded in Cricket Victoria's database," Mr Sandhu said.
Mr Sandhu took the opportunity to appeal to community members to support their not-for-profit initiative.
MPL to kick-start from 1 August. Source: Supplied by Manpreet Singh Sandhu
He added that the winning team would be given a cash reward of $7,100, the runner up will get $3,100, and teams that will reach semis will be awarded $1,100.
Click on the player above to listen to this interview in Punjabi.
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