OPL to make colourful comeback in April 2013

Odisha Cricekt Association has decided to restart the state level Twenty20 cricket tournament, Odisha Premiere League (OPL), which had been called off this year following a string of controversies. “We have decided to start OPL again from the first week of April 2013,” said OCA secretary Ashirbad Behera.

OCA authorities have decided to conduct the Twenty20 extravaganza on their own, with major modifications in the format. OPL 2 will feature eight teams — Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, North, East, West and South. There will also be no bidding for players, who will be picked through a lottery system. A pool of 120 players has been created and each player will be placed under four grades — A, B, C and D (catchment area players).

The players will be paid according to their grades. Each team will have three players from Ranji team, four each from B and C grade player pool and three or four players from local area. They will be paid Rs 30,000, Rs 20,000, Rs 10,000 and Rs 5,000 respectively for each match.

“We have decided not to conduct bidding for the teams or players. However, any individual or firm interested to take part in OPL-II can sponsor a team as per their interests,” Behera said. All the matches will be held only at two venues — Barabati Stadium in Cuttack and Veer Surendra Sai Stadium in Sambalpur. The new rules will help avoid controversies, said an OCA official.

In the inaugural edition of the OPL, 10 teams had played 44 matches at Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and other places. The teams were – Katak Barabati Tigers, Balasore Bagha, Bhubaneswar Jaguars, Co-operative Kings, Dhenkanal, Western Samurai, Rourkela, Angul Tuskers, JSP Sparks, Jagatsingpur, Kashvi Power Rangers, Keonjhar, Puri Emperors and Berhampur Bhanja Veers.

The champion received cash prize of Rs 4 lakh and the runners-up took home Rs 2 lakh. In the upcoming OCA-controlled tournament, winners will be awarded with Rs 1 lakh cash prize and runners-up will get Rs 50,000, Behera said.