Rohru plans three-day IPL of its own
Subhash Rajta
Tribune News Service
Shimla, February 28
Rohru will witness a local version of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in mid-March. A local club, Cricket Kranti, has emulated the IPL format to hold a three-day tournament with a locally made cloth ball. As in the IPL, 10 franchisee-owned teams have been formed and they picked their players in a day-long auction held in one of hotels of the town on Sunday.
Engaging local youth
The basic idea to hold the tournament is to engage local youth in sports and keep them away from vices like drugs. The IPL-like format was chosen to make it more attractive and interesting for the players as well as the public.
“The basic idea to hold the tournament is to engage local youth in sports and keep them away from vices like drugs. The IPL-like format was chosen to make it more attractive and interesting for the players as well as the public,” Pradeep Chauhan, a member of the Cricket Kranti Club.
Given that more than 25 persons showed interest in buying 10 franchisees and over 400 plus players threw their hat in the auction pool, the innovative idea has clearly caught everyone’s imagination.
For buying a franchisee, the interested individuals/ groups had to shell out Rs 80,000 to the club management. “The franchisees were given the same amount of purse to buy players from the auction pool,” said Chauhan.
For selecting players for the auction pool, the club asked cricketers from the region to submit forms detailing their cricketing achievements. “The forms were scrutinised and eventually we put 412 players in the auction pool today. Each team will have 14 members, with the captain, an icon player and two golden players chosen ahead of the auction,” he said.
Incidentally, the auctioned players, who were auctioned for a maximum amount of Rs 15,000, will not get paid, at least in the first edition of the tournament. Why have auction when players will not be paid? “The auction and capping of the team purse was done to ensure level-playing field for all teams. This ensured every team got a chance to pick good players,” said Chauhan.
Ashok Sangroli, captain of the Kotkhai team and one of the more famous players of the region, said given the response to the idea, players might get paid from next tournament onwards. “It’s going to be a great platform for youngsters, will bring forth many talented youngsters,” said Sangroli.
Barring payments to the players, the club wants to emulate the IPL format to a tee. “We have plans to even have cheerleaders at the games to make the atmosphere livelier,” said Chauhan. “But it won’t be in bad taste or look inappropriate. People will like it,” he assured.
