Kerala Cricket League will be more popular than TNPL in five seasons: KCA

The Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) aims to introduce a women's segment to its flagship T20 event, the Kerala Cricket League (KCL), within a season or two.

KCA Secretary Vinod S Kumar said most of the six franchises have shown interest in the women's event. "The idea existed right from the first season. But we didn't have much time, and the league had to be held before the BCCI domestic season began. This season, we will launch two mascots, one as a promotion for the future women's league," said Vinod S Kumar.

The KCA secretary said Malayali women officials could play a prominent role in the second season of KCL, scheduled to take place from August 22 to September 7. "In the first season, we had three women umpires, who mostly officiated as third umpires. The experience of officiating in the KCL should help in the transition once the women's event is rolled out."

The Sanju effect
The KCA secretary said all matches in the second season will be broadcast on Asianet Plus. Starsports and Fancode will also broadcast the games. "In the first season, we only televised the opening match and the final. But we got 3.4 million unique viewers on Asianet Plus. If we combined the numbers on Starsports, the total viewership was about 14 million. Then there were more than 2 million viewers on Fancode," Vinod Kumar said. "Almost half of the viewership came from outside Kerala," he added.

The highlight of the upcoming season is the entry of Kerala's only active senior international, Sanju Samson. The ace wicketkeeper batter missed the first season but was the hottest commodity in the recently held auction, where the Kochi Blue Tigers secured his services for a whopping Rs 26.8 lakh.

"The excitement with the arrival of Sanju is quite visible," said KCA President Jayesh George. "It should transform into good numbers at the venues." Mumbai Indians spinner Vignesh Puthur is another popular player who will grab attention this season.

The aim is to be No 1
The KCA office bearers are confident that KCL can become the most popular domestic T20 league in the country, surpassing the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL). "We believe by the fifth season, KCL will be the No. 1 domestic T20 league in India," Vinod Kumar said.

TNPL is one of the longest-running domestic leagues, with the ninth season just concluded. A Karnataka league has been around for more than a decade, while Delhi and Bengal also operate similar leagues. Recently, a Baroda Premier League came into existence.