Bengal Pro T20 League Explained

Bengal Pro T20 League
Headquarters:Kolkata, West Bengal
Cricket Format:Twenty20
First:2024
Last:2024
Next:2025
Tournament Format:Round Robin format with Group System and Playoffs
Participants:8 (Men's)
8 (Women's)
Champions:Sobisco Smashers Malda & Murshidabad Kings (Men's)
Lux Shyam Kolkata Tigers (Women's)
Most Runs:Priyanshu Gaurav Srivastava (345) (Men's)
Dhara Gujjar (221) (Women's)
Most Wickets:Mukesh Kumar (16) (Men's)
Piyali Ghosh (12) (Women's)
Tv:Sports18 (TV)
JioCinema for Men, FanCode for Women (Internet)
Current:2024 Bengal Pro T20 League

The Bengal Pro T20 League is a men's and women's Twenty20 cricket league that is annually held at the state of West Bengal in India and contested by eight city-based franchise teams. The league was formed in 2024 by the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB).[1] [2] It is usually played during post summer season from June to August of every year.[3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

The format was invented with the expectation that each match would last around three-and-a-half hours. The Viacom 18 showed Sports18 TV broadcasts of the competition, while all of the women's matches and some of the men's matches were available to stream for free on JioCinema.

Almost all matches take place as back-to-back double-headers at the same venue on the same day. The venue for Men's was the historic Eden Gardens and the women's played at the Jadvapur University Salt Lake Campus ground, which also hosts First Class Matches.

History

The inaugural season was held at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata in 2024, with eight franchises.

The league shall feature top players of the state (across IPL and international). Inspired by the success of India Premier League (IPL), the league will have world class production quality and broadcast. It is the grand exemplar of cricketainment thrilling experience for local fans and audiences. The major aim of this league is to unearth new talents from the state.

The first season of the league was initially planned to be held from 11 June to 28 June 2024.

The inaugural edition of the league reached a cumulative audience of 150 Million plus through TV, digital-social media and traditional media

Background

In 2024, the Bengal Pro T20 League was launched. The West Bengal franchise playing Indian Premier League (IPL), the league was aimed to make up for the absence of high-profile matches in Kolkata in the year and to expose talented players from districts. It was conceived by former BCCI president and then CAB president Sourav Ganguly.[9]

Administration

The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) founded the league in 2024. The league is affiliated to the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI).

Tournament structure

Eight city-based teams compete in the League for both men and women . All men's and women's matches are held on the same day at two different grounds. In total there are 31 matches in the league stage of the tournament for each men and women.

The four team that finishes top of the league progresses to the Semi Finals. The winners of the Semi Finals progress into the final.

Teams

There are eight franchises competing in league. The franchises are named after a city it is representing in the state. Each team can have a maximum of 17 players that includes two outstation players.

Team nameCatchment AreaOwners Men's captainWomen's captain
Adamas Howrah WarriorsBankura
Purulia
Howrah
Rice Adamas GroupAnustup MajumdarDhara Gujjar
Harbour DiamondsNorth 24 Parganas
South 24 Parganas
GD SportsManoj TiwarySukanya Parida
Lux Shyam Kolkata TigersKolkata
Hooghly
Lux Industries and Shyam SteelAbishek PorelMita Paul
Murshidabad Kings & KueensMurshidabad
Nadia
Pritam Electricals and Jalan BuildersSudip Kumar GharamiDeepti Sharma
Shrachi Rarh TigersPaschim Bardhaman
Purba Bardhaman
Birbhum
Shrachi Sports VenturesShahbaz AhmadTitas Sadhu
Rashmi Medinipur WizardsPaschim Medinipur
Purba Medinipur
Jhargram
Rashmi GroupAbhimanyu EaswaranRicha Ghosh
Servotech Siliguri StrikersDarjeeling
Jalpaiguri
Cooch Behar
Alipurduar
Kalimpong
Servotech Power SystemsAkash DeepPriyanka Bala
Sobisco Smashers MaldaUttar Dinajpur
Dakshin Dinajpur
Malda
Sona BiscuitesMukesh KumarHrishita Basu

Venues

Eden Gardens is used as the venue for the first few seasons until 2024 to host all the men's matches.

West Bengal
Kolkata
Eden Gardens
Capacity: 68,000

Jadavpur University Campus Ground is used as the venue for the first few seasons until 2024 to host all the Women's

West Bengal
Kolkata
Jadavpur University Campus Ground
Capacity: 5,000

Tournament seasons and results

Women's Finals

Broadcasting

In 2024, Viacom18 acquired the media rights and became the broadcast partner of the league. Viacom18 broadcasts the matches on Sports18 3 TV channel with Commentary in English, Bengali and Hindi and also streamed Live at their OTT platform, JioCinema.[10] Both the men's and women's matches were also streamed live on Fancode in English.

Team's performance

Men's

2024
Adamas Howrah Warriors5th
Harbour Diamonds8th
Lux Shyam Kolkata TigersSF
Murshidabad KingsC
Rashmi Medinipur WizardsSF
Servotec Siliguri Strikers6th
Shrachi Rarh Tigers7th
Sobisco Smashers MaldaC

Women's

2024
Adamas Howrah Warriors5th
Harbour Diamonds7th
Lux Shyam Kolkata TigersC
Murshidabad KueensRU
Rashmi Medinipur WizardsSF
Servotec Siliguri Strikers8th
Shrachi Rarh TigersSF
Sobisco Smashers Malda6th

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Bengal to host India's first state association-run women's franchise T20 league. ESPN Cricinfo . 21 May 2024.
  2. Web site: Akash Deep ready to shine for Siliguri Strikers in Bengal Pro T20 League. ESPNcricinfo . 21 May 2024.
  3. Web site: Bengal PRO T20 League: Franchises pick players at the draft selection for 2024 Season. twfindia.in . 18 May 2024.
  4. Web site: All you need to know about Bengal Pro T20 League, India's new Twenty20 tournament. wisden.com . 21 May 2024.
  5. Web site: Sourav Ganguly, Jhulan Goswami unveil Champions Trophy of Bengal Pro T20 League. twfindia.in . 21 May 2024.
  6. Web site: Inaugural Bengal Pro T20 League to begin on June 11. sportsadda.com . 21 May 2024.
  7. Web site: Sourav Ganguly, Jhulan Goswami unveil Bengal Pro T20 League Champions Trophy. indiatoday.com . 3 May 2024 . 21 May 2024.
  8. Web site: Bengal Pro T20 League: T20 is here to stay, it will take cricket forward, says Ganguly. hindustantimes.com . 21 May 2024.
  9. Web site: Jhulan Goswami heaps praises on Bengal Pro T20 tournament. femalecricket.com . 5 April 2024 . 21 May 2024.
  10. Web site: Viacom18 to be official broadcaster of Bengal Pro T20 League. indiablooms.com . 21 May 2024.