Edelweiss 20s Challenge from March 9

The Indian Cricket League on Wednesday named Edelweiss Capital Limited as the title sponsor for its upcoming tournament.

The Twenty20 tournament will be called 'Edelweiss 20s Challenge'.

The announcement came along with the unveiling of the tournament logo in Mumbai.

Speaking on the occasion ICL executive board chairman Kapil Dev said, "We welcome Edelweiss on board and are happy with the overwhelming response we have received from the market. This support will be a sure step in strengthening domestic cricket in the country."

Matches in the March 9 to April 7 tournament will be held at three venues -- Hyderabad, Chandigarh (Panchkula) and Gurgaon.

Two new teams, Ahmedabad Rockets and Lahore Badshahs, have also been added to the existing six.

Rashesh Shah, chairman, Edelweiss Group said, "We are delighted to partner with ICL in promoting a sport that is a national obsession in India . The passion with which the sport is played and the new age 20-20 format that has caught the imagination of Indians, especially the youth is very compelling. And we are happy to be part of a movement which brings cricketing greats together with aspiring young cricketing talent across India."

With international cricketers of high stature being added to the league, the quality of cricket is expected to be on par with international standards.

Ten Sports and Zee Sports will provide live telecasts of matches every evening and double headers on specific weekends.

The tournament will have 34 matches. Each team will play against each other once in a league format, followed by semi-finals, a third place classification match concluding with the best-of-three match finals.