Karnataka Premier League Season Two Starts September 18th
The Karnatak Premier League is set to start off with its second season this September with the highlight being the attempt to expand the tournament.
The KPL organizers plan to take the tournament to the rural areas, with matches being held at Bangalore, Hubli, Manipal and Mysore. This Twenty20 tournament will feature the same eight participants as last year, with each team taking on the others once and the top two teams qualifying for the semi finals.
In the first KPL season the most number of matches was held in Bangalore and a few at Mysore, but the enthusiastic crowd at Mysore encouraged the organizers to award the semi finals and final to the state this year.
The http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Karnataka-c801 State Cricket Association (KSCA) want the matches of the tournament to be spread evenly amongst all the states this year, with all the four venues getting equal attention. There will be two matches played each day, with the matches at the city held under floodlights while the other matches will be played during the day.
Inspired by the Indian Premier League Twenty20, Karnatak was the first state to introduce a local Twenty20 tournament, which was franchise based. The KPL has also organized a player transfer window from August 15th to the 30th, during which the different squads will finalize their squads, picking a minimum of 14 and a maximum of 22 players. The players with two year contracts are eligible for transfers, provided there is an agreement between the clubs and players.
The secretary of the KSCA, Brijesh Patel said in a press conference in Bangalore, that he was excited about the future of KPL, he said it was a good opportunity to discover talent from smaller towns and was also a much needed challenge for the organizers.
“The KPL has opened doors for players from mofussil areas and for coaches as well. The boys are getting more confident in playing in front of big crowds. We know there will be logistical issues, such as erecting temporary structures and transporting players. We're trying to get the cricketing facilities on par with that of Bangalore.” He told reporters.
Patel also revealed how the organizers had drawn up plans to construct a stadium in Hubli, which could very well be on its way to getting an upgrade to first class if it survives the matches of the tournament.
Patel believes this will be an excellent opportunity for the lesser known players to make their mark and get noticed by the IPL and even the state team. He was proud of the players performance, but felt there was room for improvement, “I thought the quality of cricket in the first season was good. However, the physical fitness needs to improve. Some of them couldn't get past those 15 days, often suffering from cramps.” Patel said, stressing on the fact that the players needed to train harder if they wanted to impress selectors.
Before the start of the second season of the KPL, there was a suggestion made by the senior organizers to include non Karnataka players in the tournament. The suggestion was accepted by the KSCA, which is the host body, but the BCCI rejected the proposal. Patel didn’t think this would be an issue and was puzzled at their refusal, “The BCCI did not approve it. If the host association (KSCA) has no issue, then what's the problem?” The tournament starts this September.
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