Basil Sylvester Pinto
PANAJI
The much talked about Goa Corporate League 2016 will be held next month. Speaking exclusively to The Goan Everyday, general secretary of Goa Cricket Association Vinod Phadke revealed that the Twenty20 spectacle will be held from March 12-20.
Phadke said the tournament would involve eight teams which will be divided into two groups with the top two sides in each group advancing from the league stage to play the semi-finals on March 19; the winners of which will play for a coveted trophy next day.
While there would be two Goa-based teams, the six other corporate teams are outstation outfits, namely, ONGC, Air India, Indian Oil, FCI, State Bank of Hyderabad and Reliance. Phadke stated that the tourney would provide an excellent opportunity for the local talent to prove themselves against quality Indian players in the opposition like Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Unmukt Chand, T Suman, Piyush Chawla and Pragyan Ojha.
He went on to add that the tourney would have the sheen from the halcyon days when the Arlem Trophy was staged in the 70s in the State in Panaji and Margao, which attracted players of international calibre like Sunil Gavaskar and Dilip Vengsarkar drawing sizeable crowds.
There would be two games played each day at 3 pm and 6.30 pm (under floodlights) at Goa Cricket Association Academy ground, Porvorim with the draw expected to be announced in the coming days. Attractive prizes amounting to around 10 lakhs will be on offer, with the man of the match for every match expected to receive a cheque of Rs 10,000 and Man of the series set to receive a cheque of around Rs 50,000. Furthermore, the semi-finalists, runners-up and winners will get attractive prize money, while the eventual winner of the inaugural edition of the league will be awarded a glittering trophy.
