New Chandigarh, 02 August (H.S.): The Sher-e-Punjab T20 League was officially launched at the PCA International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh on Sunday, marking the beginning of a new domestic cricket competition aimed at promoting emerging talent from Punjab.The tournament will be played from August 30 to September 13 and will feature six teams representing Amritsar, Fazilka, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Mohali and Bathinda. A total of 27 matches will be played in a round-robin format.The league was launched by Punjab Cricket Association Secretary Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer and PCA President Amarjeet Singh Mehta in the presence of India captain Shubman Gill and fast bowler Arshdeep Singh. The tournament’s official logo was also unveiled during the ceremony.The league is expected to feature several leading cricketers from Punjab, including Shubman Gill, Arshdeep Singh, Abhishek Sharma, Gurnoor Brar, Prabhsimran Singh and Ramandeep Singh. Each franchise will have one marquee player and at least two icon players, bringing together international stars, domestic performers and young players.Shubman Gill said the league would provide young cricketers with an important platform to display their talent and move closer to representing Punjab and India. He said Punjab had always produced outstanding players and expressed confidence that the tournament would help discover the next generation of cricketers.Meet Hayer said Punjab had made a significant contribution to Indian cricket through players such as Lala Amarnath, Yuvraj Singh, Harmanpreet Kaur, Shubman Gill and Arshdeep Singh. He described the league as a visionary initiative supported by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to provide emerging players with a professional competitive platform.PCA President Amarjeet Singh Mehta said the competition would allow aspiring players to share dressing rooms with international cricketers and gain valuable experience on a bigger stage.The player auction will be held on August 9. Each franchise will have a purse of ₹45 lakh and may select a maximum of 20 players. The marquee player price has been fixed at ₹10 lakh, while the base price for an icon player will be ₹1.50 lakh.The base price for Punjab first-class players has been set at ₹1 lakh, under-23 players at ₹75,000, under-19 players at ₹50,000 and district-level players at ₹20,000.

Hindusthan Samachar / GURSHARAN SINGH