Newly launched T20 Mumbai League may fall short of star power in its inaugural season

Mumbai is set to become the latest entrant in India’s cricket setup to have a Twenty20 league of its own. The inaugural T20 Mumbai League will be held from March 11-21 this year.

The league will be staged at the Wankhede Stadium and will feature six teams – Mumbai North, Mumbai North-West, Mumbai North-East, Mumbai North-Central, Mumbai South-Central, and Mumbai South.

The list of the franchise owners is likely to be formally released in the next couple of days. Mumbai Cricket Association President Ashish Shelar confirmed that over 1,500 players from the Mumbai region had registered to be participants of the league.

All players including international stars are likely to be part of the auction, which will be held on similar lines as the Indian Premier League. The date for the player auction will be finalised after deliberation with the franchise owners.

Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar was named brand ambassador of the franchise-based league at the league’s launch event in Mumbai on Wednesday. However, it is likely that the cricket legend might end up being the only big name to be associated with league due to its ill-timed scheduling.

Schedule clash

The dates of the league, to be played under aegis of the Mumbai Cricket Association, will clash with the tri-series in Sri Lanka where India are to square off against the hosts and Bangladesh for a round of T20s between March 6-18. The prestigious Irani Cup will also be played from March 14 to 18.

Mumbai is home to some big stars of Indian cricket, including Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Shardul Thakur and Prithvi Shaw, among others.

While those who make the cut for international duty are unlikely to play a part in the nascent league, those picked in the Irani Cup – played between the Ranji Trophy champions and a Rest of India squad – will have to make a tough call of choosing between the T20 league and the traditional domestic competition.

Shelar, however, argued that the priority was to hold the league before the Indian Premier League bandwagon takes over in April. “The dates are ideal as they fall before the Indian Premier League,” he said.

“It was a window that we thought was feasible for all parties. It is the first season. As we move along, all such issues will be taken into account.”

Who will participate?

Rohit is a mainstay of India’s limited overs team and he will skip the event in all likelihood. Rahane and Iyer have not been a part of India’s plans in the T20 format. However, Rahane had opted to skip Mumbai’s games in the ongoing 45-over Vijay Hazare Trophy and might just stick to his stand in the T20s as well.

The fact that India are playing low-profile teams such as Sri Lanka and Bangladesh might tempt the selectors to rest a few senior players who play across formats and field a young side that could see Iyer walk into the team.

Shaw, on the other hand, is a front-runner to be picked in the Rest of India squad for the Irani Cup following an impressive Ranji season. He already has a contract with IPL side Delhi Daredevils and might not let go of a chance to play a BCCI-organised match for a fresh league launched by the state body.