Arun Jaitley Stadium to host inaugural edition of Delhi Premier League in August 2024

The much-awaited Delhi Premier League (DPL) is scheduled to get underway next month. The inaugural edition of DPL is set to be played in the second half of August, the Delhi and District Cricket Association announced on Monday (July 29).

The DDCA will be conducting the tournament for both men and women. The entire competition will be played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. Earlier on Sunday, the DDCA conducted the auction for the six franchises. The men's teams were sold for a total amount of Rs 49.65 crore. The top four bidders in the men's franchise auction automatically acquired the women's team.

The DDCA has joined the growing list of state bodies that have launched T20 leagues in recent years. Earlier this year, the Cricket Association of Bengal also hosted the Bengal Pro T20 League which was an eight-team affair and the DPL will be the second new T20 league to get underway this year.

The competition not only give the local talents the opportunity to show their abilities but will also help DDCA unearth new gems. Delhi have failed to do well in domestic competition in recent times and DDCA will be hoping that they manage to unearth some talents that can change the team's fortunes in the domestic arena.

'DPL to provide equal opportunity for both male and female cricketers':

DDCA president Rohan Jaitley expressed his delight over the launch of the DPL and said that the vision of the tournament is to provide equal opportunity to cricketers of both genders. He said that the tournament will further help DDCA work on its vision of nurturing talents that can shine for the state and national team.

"I am delighted to announce the Delhi Premier League Season 1 with a vision to provide equal opportunity for both male and female cricketers," said Rohan Jaitley,as quoted by India Today.

"The vision of DDCA has always been to nurture talent who can shine for their state team and country, and the Delhi Premier League is a significant step taken by the DDCA in that direction," he added.

The inaugural edition of the DPL will feature a total of 40 games. Of those, 33 games will take place in the men's competition while the remaining 7 games will be taking place in the women's competition. The names of the teams, squads, full schedule, and other details will be announced soon.