A total of 16 outstation teams have been shortlisted for the twelve overs-a-side tournament with each team comprising ten players," organising committee president H D Sharan told reporters here.
Delhi, Bhopal, Kolkata and Lucknow are among the sixteen outstation teams that would take part in the flood-lit tournament.
The winners would get Rs three lakh and a crystal trophy while the runners-up would take home a purse of Rs 1.5 lakh, Sharan said.
Jharkhand's deputy chief minister Sudesh Mahto will inaugurate the tournament while the organisers have approached Team India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni to take out time from his busy IPL schedule to encourage the teams during the tournament, a close friend of Dhoni told PTI.
Dhoni, who used to excel in tennis ball cricket, had represented Youth Sporting Cricket Club in 2004, and was a guest in the 2005 tournament soon after his memorable 148 against Pakistan in 2005.
Senior sports journalist Shashikant Pathak will be honoured by the deputy chief minister on the opening day for his significant contribution in sports, Sharan said. PTI PVR AMD AH