In India, cricket is treated like a religion, while music is revered as the language of the heart. Bringing the two together, Kisan Cricket League (KCL) aims to create a new platform for rural India’s sporting and musical talent. In a first of its kind rural India initiative at a national scale, In Dot Sports Pvt Lt and Prasar Bharati have announced the launch of Kisan Cricket League (KLC), a nationwide sports and entertainment platform designed to provide an organised pathway for cricketing and singing talent from rural India to reach a global audience.
The Kisan Cricket league was originally announced in 2019 but could not take off because of Covid -19 pandemic and the challenges that followed, says Atul Pandey, the founder & CEO of Kisan Cricket League.
Pandey, a filmmaker, recently won the Best Arts/Culture Film Award at the 72nd National Film Awards for Main Nida, his directorial debut documentary.
“Kisan Cricket league is more than a cricket league for me. It is a dream I have carried since 2015, shaped by 38 years in the entertainment, media and sports industry,” Pandey says.
An aspiring cricketer in his younger days, Pandey covered the Cricket World Cup 1996 and 1999. He has also been closely associated with stories from the rural India including “Summer 2007” his first film as a producer.
Explaining the idea behind combining cricket and music, Pandey says “The integration of cricket and singing is designed to create a six-month-long Indian cultural extravaganza for global audience.”
Vikram Singh Malik, Director Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, said, “Prasar Bharati has the widest reach across all parts of the country. Our endeavour is to provide free of cost diverse content to the common man in number of languages and genres.” The Prasasar Bharati’s latest platform, Waves OTT, will broadcast Kisan Cricket League matches.
The league will have seven teams, for which the online registration expected to begin in next three weeks. And matches are scheduled to be played from February to March 2027.
The teams will represent different regions and cultural identites of the country, The proposed names of the teams include Awadhi & Magadhi Brothers, Frontier Gabroos, Dakshina Vijetas (Champions of the South), Oruvan Thalaivas, Shayadri Rangers, Eastern Eagles and Brisas Boys, an all Adivasi team.
Pandey says the seven-team format aims to reach 6.4 lakh villages across the country, ensuring participation and representation from all the states and Union territories.
The league’s tagline captures its larger ambition: “Khelega Bharat, Dekhega India”.
