VECL India · Season 1

VECL Chennai — Season 1

Every date, band and cost for the first Chennai season, in one place.

Registrations open Closes 22 November 2026

The season at a glance

Four league-owned clubs and eight age bands — five open, and three girls' bands of their own — played on Sundays from January to April 2027. Registering takes a couple of minutes: tell us about the player, pick a team selection day and pay the ₹250 selection fee in the same step.

Season
Sun 10 Jan – 25 Apr 2027
Format
Franchise T20 · 4 clubs
Bands
U12 · U14 · U16 · U18 · Senior
Girls
Girls U14 · Girls U18 · Women — their own competition, not a place in a boys' team
Where
Chennai (ground to be confirmed)
To register
₹250 per player
Includes
Your team selection day
Watch
Every match streamed live on YouTube, Facebook and our own channels
Awards
An awards ceremony on grand final day. Top batter, top bowler and top fielder or wicket-keeper in every one of the eight bands. The awards themselves are not finalised.
Selectors
Two from the Melbourne league sit on the Chennai panel in December
Beyond Chennai
We intend to send two players from every age band to VECL Melbourne in December 2027
Playing days
Sundays — start between 8am and 10am, play through to about 6.30pm. Times confirmed each round.
Register — ₹250
Key dates

What happens when

Every date below is from the rollout plan. Team selection days are confirmed; the ground is not yet.

22 November 2026

Registrations close. Bands that have not attracted enough players are merged or held over.

6 & 13 December 2026

Team selection days, both Sundays. Two selectors fly in from the Melbourne league to sit on the panel. A third Sunday on 20 December if it is needed.

26 December 2026

Offers go out to selected players after the panel sits.

5 January 2027

Squads are final. Uniforms handed out.

10 January 2027

Round 1 — the first Sunday of Season 1.

18 & 25 April 2027

Finals, and the awards ceremony on grand final day.

December 2027

Two players from every age band travel to the VECL tournament in Melbourne — our intention, confirmed once the season is under way.

How to register

Three steps, one account

Registrations are taken in the Elite app rather than on a form, so your registration is attached to a real account. You can see where the player stands, update the details and register a second child without typing everything again.

Create your account

Open the Elite app and sign up with your email. It is the same account you would use for coaching and bookings, so there is nothing extra to remember.

Register and pay — ₹250

Open the VECL tile, pick VECL Chennai, tell us about the player, choose 6 or 13 December as their selection day, and pay by UPI or card — all in one step. The registration is complete once the ₹250 is paid, and not before. Your details are saved before the payment page opens, so an interrupted payment costs you nothing but a second attempt — you can finish paying from the same screen. The fee is not refundable.

Take up a place

If the panel offers a place, you confirm it in the app. You will see exactly where you stand at every step.

Registering does not guarantee a place. It is ₹250 per player to register and book a team selection day, paid in the app by UPI or card, in rupees. The fee is not refundable, including if the player is not selected.

Questions

Before you register

What does it cost?

₹250 per player to register and book a team selection day, paid by UPI or card when you submit the form. That is what registering costs.

Does paying the ₹250 mean my child is in the team?

No. It books their place at a team selection day and puts them in front of the selectors — it does not buy a squad place. Teams are picked at the selection days, and the panel's decision is final. You can see exactly where the registration stands in the app: registered, selection day booked, trialled, place offered, enrolled.

Is this only for boys? Only for juniors?

Neither. The open bands run from Under 12 to Senior, so there is adult cricket here as well as junior. And girls have three bands of their own — Girls U14, Girls U18 and Women — rather than a few places in a boys' team. Those bands are deliberately wide, because a first season fills three properly where it would spread five too thin, and they run at a lower registration threshold than the open bands so that a competition starting from nothing is not judged against numbers a league takes years to build.

Is there really a chance to play in Australia?

Yes, and here is exactly what it is. We intend to select two players from every age band in Season 1 — 10 to 15 players in all — to play in the VECL tournament in Melbourne in December 2027. The league pays for their accommodation, their match fees and an Elite staff member who travels with them and is responsible for them throughout, with Elite's Australian staff supporting the group there. The family pays the player's flights, their visa and their spending money.

All eight bands are in contention, the girls' and women's bands included.

Two things to be straight about. It is an intention rather than a guarantee — the two places are confirmed once the season is under way and we have seen the standard, and registering or being selected in Chennai does not entitle anyone to one of them. And travel depends on an Australian visa being granted, which the Australian government decides, not us. We will help with the paperwork.

Can family watch if they cannot get to the ground?

Yes. Every match is telecast live on YouTube, Facebook and our own channels, and scored ball by ball in the app at the same time — so a grandparent in another city or country sees the same over as the parent on the boundary. The recordings stay up afterwards, so a player's innings is something they can send on.

My child already plays for a club. Is that a problem?

Not at all — most of our players do. Tell us the club and grade when you register; it helps the selectors place them in the right age group.

Why do I need an app account to register?

So your registration belongs to you. It means we can ring a person rather than chase a form, you can correct the details later, register a second child in a few taps, and follow selection without emailing to ask.

Can I register more than one child?

Yes. Add each player to your account once, then register each of them from the same VECL screen. The fee is per player.

What if we change our mind after registering?

Tell us and we will take the player out of consideration. Fees already paid are not refunded, so it is worth being sure before you register — and worth telling us early, because a place we can free up early is a place another player gets.

Is the fee refundable?

No. The ₹250 team selection fee is not refundable, including if the player is not selected. The ₹250 pays for the selection day itself — the ground, the officials and the panel's time — which happens whether or not a place follows.

When will I hear back?

As the age groups fill and the trial dates are set. Everyone who registers is contacted — including if there is no place this season, so you are never left wondering.

The first Chennai season starts with this list

Register the player now — ₹250, a couple of minutes — and their team selection day is booked in the same step.

Register your interest