Cricket: Sachin Tendulkar spearheads grassroots framework for Indian Street Premier League
ISPL reveals new National Competitive Framework
Since the first formal tournament in 2024, the Indian Street Premier League (ISPL), India’s first tennis-ball cricket competition, has taken the nation by storm, with players from all over the country doing their best to gain recognition and earn selection.
Following the success of the second edition this year, which was won by betting odds favourite Majhi Mumbai, ISPL Core Committee member Sachin Tendulkar is now set to lead a significant initiative aimed at strengthening grassroots development.
This initiative is expected to come in the form of a national competitive framework designed to provide players with a clear and structured pathway to earn recognition not only in the ISPL but on the national circuit as well.
Tendulkar and tournament organisers announced last week that an official League Affiliation Model and Zonal Panel Structures will be put in place in the coming months. The goal of this is to ensure that grassroots talent is identified systematically rather than by general scouting.
Additionally, the framework is also expected to set out steps to nurture and develop players, while providing equal opportunities for players from all ends of the country and varying socio-economic backgrounds, which have previously been overlooked.
It is understood that once the framework is put into place, the ISPL will operate on eight zonal panels covering every region, and each of those zones will have a recognised ISPL Panel governing all cricket activity within that region.
The major change will see it become mandatory for players to enter the competition by registering with their respective Zone after Season 3, meaning that direct player registrations will no longer be accepted after that point.
ISPL expansion attracts additional ownership of Bollywood stars
As we have seen in the Indian Premier League, Bollywood stars such as Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta have invested lots of time, money and effort into their teams, and their interest in the league has helped it grow to become one of the richest globally.
We are now seeing a similar trajectory in the ISPL, with the league expanding to eight teams as of Season 3, and it was revealed last month that the newest franchise from Ahmedabad is owned by another Bollywood actor, Ajay Devgn.
Devgn is well-known for supporting various sports ventures across India, including tennis, MMA and cricket, and he has now become the latest actor to purchase a team, following in the footsteps of Salman Khan, who purchased the New Delhi franchise earlier this year.
Other actors who already own teams in the ISPL include Hrithik Roshan (Bangalore Strikers), Saif Ali and Kareena Kapoor Khan (Tigers of Kolkata), Akshay Kumar (Srinagar Ke Veer) and Amitabh Bachan (Majhi Mumbai).
