The Indian Street Premier League (ISPL), India’s first-ever T10 tennis ball cricket tournament played inside a stadium, is gearing up for its highly anticipated Season 2. The tournament will take place from January 26th to February 9th, 2025, at Dadoji Konddev Stadium in Thane. Aspiring cricketers from all over the country can now register for trials in 55 cities, organized into five competitive zones, providing a golden opportunity for emerging talent.
The selection process begins at the city level, where standout performers will progress to the Zone Level. The competition intensifies here, as top players from each zone compete for a place in the Auction Pool. The final trials for each zone are scheduled as follows: Central and South Zones from October 26th to 28th, East and North Zones from November 2nd to 4th, and West Zone from November 5th to 9th.
The journey concludes with Simulation Matches on November 12th and 13th, 2024, offering players one last chance to showcase their skills before the auction. This season, ISPL is also inviting organizations and individuals to host registration camps and register at least 1,500 players to qualify their city as an official trial location. This initiative empowers communities to directly support local talent and earn recognition from the ISPL.
ISPL’s inaugural season in March was a massive success, drawing over 12,000 fans per match and totaling over 500,000 attendees. The tournament was a vibrant mix of sports and entertainment, featuring a star-studded opening ceremony and thrilling matches that kept fans on the edge of their seats.
New innovative features added
The new season of the ISPL will see a few innovative features being added. The ‘Tip Top’ toss, the 50/50 challenge, ‘Tape Ball Over,’ and ‘9 Street Runs’ will be the innovations that will come into play. Sachin Tendulkar, Core Committee Member of ISPL, said, as quoted by PTI, that the idea of the Tape Ball over was to give the bowlers an advantage
“If we are giving some advantage to the batsmen then the bowlers also need to get in the game. During my playing days, I used to tape the ball up from one side. In season (leather) balls, we look for the shiny and the rough side and in the tennis ball, we would apply tape on one side and I used to practice reverse swing to face it in international cricket,” Tendulkar said.
“I thought why not introduce it in this format and if this is implemented then the batter’s technique will also be tested.”
Legends such as Amitabh Bachchan (Majhi Mumbai), Akshay Kumar (Srinagar Ke Veer), Hrithik Roshan (KVN Bangalore Strikers), Saif Ali and Kareena Kapoor Khan (Tiigers of Kolkata), Ram Charan (Falcon Riders Hyderabad), and Suriya Sivakumar (Chennai Singams) bring unparalleled star power to the league.
