Thiruvananthapuram: Filmmaker Priyadarshan is among the owners of the six franchises for the inaugural edition of the Kerala Cricket League (KCL), a state-level T20 cricket tournament organised by the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA).
To determine team ownership, a competitive tender process was held here on Thursday. From among the 13 applicants, the six highest bidders were awarded the franchises.
The selected franchisees are Priyadarshan-Jose Patara Consortium, Sohan Roy (Aries Group), Sajad Seth (Finesses Consortium), T S Kaladharan (Console Shipping Services India Pvt Ltd), Subhash George Manuel (Enigmatic Smile Rewards Pvt Ltd) and Sanju Muhammad (EKK Infrastructure Ltd).
The inaugural player auction of the KCL will be held in August. The team owners will acquire players at the auction in which registered Kerala players selected by the KCA will participate.
Modelled on the Indian Premier League, the KCL will be held over three weeks with the six teams playing a total of 33 matches. The tournament will be telecast live on Star Sports 1 channel and digital streaming application Fancode.
Superstar Mohanlal has already signed up as the brand ambassador of the inaugural edition of the KCL.
KCA president Jayesh George, secretary Vinod S Kumar, governing council chairman Nazir Machan, and member P J Navas attended the bid-opening event.
