As soon as IPL 2025 gets over, get set for another T20 cricket league – this time featuring corporate employees. On Wednesday, the India Corporate T20 Bash ( ICBT20) was officially launched in Delhi at a function featuring South African cricketer Herschelle Gibbs, who is brand ambassador of the league, actor Sonu Sood and Vinod Kumar Tiwari, director general, Olympic Council of Asia. The league kicks off on May 27 and will feature six teams in a round robin format.
Video Credit: Businessline
The six franchises are Bengaluru Avengers, Delhi Kings, Gurugram Spartans, Gujarat Diamonds, Hyderabad Royals, and Mumbai Champions who play 18 matches over eight days. Each team will be mentored by former cricketers like Sri Lankan batsman Tillakratne Dilshan, Dhammika Prasad, Jerome Chinia and Keith Ingram among others.
Players for these teams are being handpicked through app CricHeroes and the criteria is they must be working in a company, preferably a listed firm and also get permission from their organisation to take time off to play the league.
Already 50 players have been selected from those who registered, said Rajeev Kumar, Director & CEO, Eminence Netrasup India, a sports management company that has conceived the league. He said the players are from companies like IBM, Accenture, Bharti Airtel, Zomato, Ola among others.
The first edition of the tournament will be held entirely in Delhi at the Yamuna Sports Complex but from next year on the idea is to get other cities to host some of the action too, said Kumar.
Would the tournament really elicit viewer interest? Is it viable? The organisers appeared confident. Kumar said that they are in talks with digital platforms to beam it, and are in talks with sponsors for franchises. Gibbs, speaking to businessline, said that “We are dealing with everyday people. It makes it much more tangible and special.”
Sukhvinder Singh, former Ranji Trophy player, who runs Ace cricket coaching academy, and is part of the steering committee of the ICB T20 league, said that they will be verifying that the selected players are indeed corporate employees. “Another criteria for selection is the player should not have played first class cricket,” he said.
The tournament is offering good prize money, according to Kumar. The champions will take home ₹25 lakh, the runners-up get ₹15 lakh, each ‘Man of the Match’ will be awarded ₹25,000, the ‘Man of the Series’ will get ₹2 lakh, and the best player in each category will receive ₹1 lakh.