Kerala Cricket Carnival begins on Monday | Cricket News

A decade and a half after the Indian Premier League changed the global cricket landscape, Kerala cricket is set to enter the franchise-based league with the inaugural season of the Kerala Cricket League (KCI) starting with Greenfield Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram.
Six teams will play 33 matches over the next 16 days, with the final on September 18. The opening match of the league will be played on Monday afternoon (2.30 pm) at the Greenfield Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram and will see Mohammed Azharuddeen-led Alappuzha take on Varun Nayanar. -led Thrissur Titans.
Shortly after the conclusion of the first game, the official opening ceremony of the KCL will take place in a colorful event with more than 60 artists. captain Trivandrum Royals.
Spectator entry will be free for all matches and will also be broadcast live on sports channels. Calicut Globastars led by Rohan Kunnummal and Sachin Baby’s Aries Kollam Sailors are the other two teams competing in the league.
The KCL champions will be richer by 30,000 lei, while the runners-up will receive a cash prize of 20,000 lei. The third and fourth placed teams will get Rs 5 lakh each.
“It is an exciting tournament, something that Kerala cricket has not witnessed. I think the biggest advantage is that the league will produce more cricketers from Kerala. With the matches being broadcast live globally, the talent scouts they will be eyeing an impressive group of performers and this could open the IPL door for at least some of these players,” said P Balachandran, the top coach in the KCL, who is in charge of Trivandrum Royals.
KCA and the franchise owners have left no stone unturned to create hype around the league. However, doubts remain about the success of the league. Unlike the IPL, the matches in the inaugural edition of the KCL will not be home and away and will be played at one venue, the Greenfield Stadium. The league is limited to players from the state and there are no foreign cricketers involved in it.
With Kerala’s biggest cricket star at the moment, Sanju Samson, also choosing to miss the event, it remains to be seen how much traction the inaugural edition of the KCL will gain. But local cricketers have no complaints as KCL gives them a huge opportunity to grab eyeballs.