Indiantelevision.com Team

(5 March 2008 6:00 pm)

MUMBAI: The Essel Group has announced that financial services company Edelweiss Capital is the title sponsor for its upcoming tournament for the Indian Cricket League (ICL).

The Edelweiss 20's Challenge will kick off on 9 March and conclude on 7 April. The tournament’s logo has also been unveiled.

ICL CEO Himanshu Mody notes that the ICL is talking with companies to sponsor each of the eight teams. This time Ten Sports will also air the ICL action.

Besides adding two teams (Ahmedabad Rockets and Lahore Badshahs) to make the event more competitive, ICL has also increased its matches to 34 compared with 20 matches in the inaugural event that happened last year.

The event will be held in three locations – Hyderabad, Chandigarh and Gurgaon.

ICL chairman of the executive board Kapil Dev says, “Edelweiss’ association with the ICL is a support to young domestic Indian players who have been provided with an international standard platform to display their cricketing talent. This support will be a sure step in strengthening cricket in the country.”

Edelweiss Group chairman Rashesh Shah notes that cricket is something that Indians are passionate about. “We feel that the ICL will grow as an event and we will grow with it.”