Mumbai : Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) has bagged the exclusive rights to the first edition of the Masters Champions League (MCL), a T20 cricket league which will begin on 28th January 2016.
India’s premier sports entertainment channel Sony SIX will telecast all the 18 matches of the inaugural edition of the tournament live and exclusive from Dubai and Sharjah to across the Indian sub-continent.
Masters Champions League T20 was launched by Zafar Shah, Chairman of GM Sports on 3rd June 2015, MCL is a league for retired cricketers some of whom have never played the Twenty20 format.
The MCL has also secured, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the current captain of the Indian national cricket team as the brand ambassador. Six teams will take part in the tournament led by an Icon Player and each team has been named after zodiac signs, such as Libra, Gemini, Sagittarius, Virgo, Capricorn and Leo.
The first MCL match has been scheduled with two former teammates, Sourav Ganguly from Libra Legends and Virender Sehwag from Gemini Arabians, leading their teams to play against each other at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium (DICS). Iconic players like Brian Lara, Muttiah Muralitharan, Adam Gilchrist, Paul Collingwood, Brett Lee, Jacques Kallis, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara among others have also been drafted in the MCL teams . The final match of the MCL will also be staged at the DICS on February 13, 2016.
The acquisition of MCL further adds to the network’s line-up of live cricket T20 events which presently include the Vivo Indian Premier League, Karnataka Premier League, Ram Slam T20 Challenge and Caribbean Premier League.
MCL launched the official ticket sales of the tournament earlier this week with the brand ambassador, Mahendra Singh Dhoni giving a special video message to fans.
Prasana Krishnan, Business Head, Sony SIX and KIX, said, “Most fans have grown up watching these International & Indian legends play and the tournament gives them an opportunity to connect with them again. Viewers of Sony SIX can look forward to some great cricketing action and we are excited to partner with the Masters Champions League as a result.”
Sam Khan, Chief Executive Director, MCL, added, “We are delighted that we are partnering with Sony SIX. They have an outstanding reputation as a sports broadcaster and have played an integral role in promoting and growing the game. We are very confident that they will do all that is necessary to do the same for the MCL”
