Over the next week we will post one short update here every morning, each answering one of the questions families ask us most. We are starting at the beginning: what VECL Chennai actually is.
A season, not a weekend
VECL is a franchise T20 league. VECL Chennai Season 1 is played on Sundays, from Sunday 10 January to Sunday 25 April 2027. Players who are selected are drafted into one of four league-owned clubs and play a full season for that club, rather than a one-off tournament.
The four clubs are each named for a south Chennai neighbourhood: Sholinganallur Falcons, Medavakkam Eagles, Velachery Warriors and Perungudi Panthers. Every club fields a squad in every age band that runs.
Who can play
There are eight age bands in two competitions.
- Open bands: U12, U14, U16, U18 and Senior
- Girls and women: Girls U14, Girls U18 and Women, as a competition of their own
Senior is adult cricket, so this is not a junior-only league. And the girls' and women's bands are not a few places inside a boys' team; they are their own competition.
Each open band needs 60 registrations to run, and each girls' band needs 30. A band that falls short is merged upward or held over to the next season. If the band a player registered for does not run, we will tell you directly rather than leave you to find out from a fixture list.
What a match day looks like
Matches are on Sundays in Chennai. Play starts between 8am and 10am and runs through to about 6.30pm, with match times confirmed each round. The ground is still being contracted and will be named once it is signed; every registered family is told directly.
Every match is streamed live on YouTube and Facebook and scored ball by ball, so family who cannot be at the ground can follow the same over as the parent on the boundary. The recordings stay up afterwards.
The finals are on 18 and 25 April 2027, with an awards ceremony on grand final day: top batter, top bowler and top fielder or wicket-keeper in each of the eight bands.
From registration to Round 1
- 22 November 2026: registrations close
- 6 and 13 December: team selection days, with a third on 20 December only if it is needed
- 26 December: offers go out to selected players
- 5 January 2027: squads are final, and uniforms are handed out before the first round
- 10 January: Round 1
What registering costs
Registering costs ₹250 per player, paid by UPI or card when you submit the form on this site. It pays for the player's team selection day: the ground, the officials and the panel's time. It does not buy a squad place. Teams are picked at the selection days and the panel's decision is final. The fee is not refundable, except where VECL itself cancels a selection day or the season.
Who runs it
VECL India is run from Chennai by Elite Cricket Academy and Sports Gear Private Limited, from the Elite Cricket Academy in Medavakkam. It is the same league as the three franchises in Melbourne, using the same format, the same live scoring and the same approach to selection. Two selectors from the Melbourne league sit on the Chennai panel in December.
What is coming this week
Tomorrow we will go through registering, step by step. After that: the selection days, the four clubs, a guide for parents, how Chennai and Melbourne connect, and some practical preparation for players before selection day.
The full detail is on the Season 1 page at vecl.in/season-1. If you have a question we have not answered, email info@elitecricketacademy.co.in or call or WhatsApp +91 93846 63776.