MUMBAI: Zee Sports will showcase live telecast of NKP Salve Challenger Trophy One-Day Series to be played between India A and India B teams.
The tournament will be played over four days, starting from 10 October, with the finals being played on 13 October.
All the matches of the challenger series will be played under the floodlights. Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar will be seen in action after a long lay off and would be raring to go.
The Challenger Trophy 2005-06 is being staged by the Punjab Cricket Association.
The event will be a key determinant in choosing the India team to face Sri Lanka later in October 2005.The Challenger Trophy will have the 36 best available players in India in action. Indian Team Captain Sourav Ganguly will lead the seniors team, stylish batsmen VVS Laxman has been made the captain of the India A team, whereas the India B team will be led by Dinesh Mongia, informs an official release.
Zee Sports COO Gary Lovejoy says," We are delighted to acquire the broadcasting rights for the Challenger Trophy. This tournament will act as a catalyst for selection in the national team.
" The telecast will include preview and review shows, special programming, world-class graphics, special interviews and match reports. In addition we are working on special initiatives to substantially boost the value we provide to our viewers and advertisers which will be announced in the next few days."
Punjab Cricket Association president I S Bindra says, "It was our dream to make domestic cricket as important as international cricket and today we at the Punjab Cricket Association are delighted to see at least 45 domestic cricketers basking under the glare of the television cameras instead of a handful international cricketers during a Test or a One Day International match.
" We have no doubt that with the production and marketing expertise of Nimbus Sport and the on air promotional ability of Zee Network, this Challenger Series will be the forerunner for many more domestic events where a new breed of heroes will be thrown up by the incalculable power of television."
Nimbus president Satish Menon adds, "In Zee Sports we have found an outstanding broadcast platform for the Challenger Trophy, backed by the massive promotional capability of the Zee Network and the world class production that Nimbus Sport will provide. We expect that the combination will lead to the highest ever TVRs for the Challenger Trophy specially with Tendulkar's comeback in this marquee event."
