Nagpur: Defending champions Neco Master Blasters will renew their rivalry when they take on last year’s finalist Pagariya Strikers in the opening match of the Vidarbha Premier League (VPL) Season 2 at Vidarbha Cricket Association’s Jamtha International Stadium on Monday evening.
The tournament will be telecast live on Sony Sports Network and streamed on JioHotstar. The second season of VPL will be much more entertaining and fiercely contested with all the six franchises getting enough time to train and have the best players in their squad. In the inaugural year, VCA prepared teams and handed them over to the franchises. But this year, auctions were held where all the franchises got locked in bidding war and secured most of the players they wanted.
Gold Rate
June 01- 2026 - Time 10.30Hrs
Apoorv Wankhade emerged as the costliest player with Nagpur Heroz getting him for Rs 8.30 lakh. Apart from Neco Master Blaster and Pagariya Strikers who will open the tournament, India Warriors, Nagpur Heroz, Bharat Rangers and Orange Tigers all would fight it out for the coveted title in this 14- day tournament.
Meanwhile, Neco Master Blaster will miss captain Jitesh Sharma who was playing IPL final for Royal Challengers Bengaluru against Gujarat Titans. The team will be led by Adhyayan Daga in the opener. Jitesh Sharma will take over from the second match. Similarly, Master Blaster will be missing Harsh Dubey who has been named in Indian team for Afghanistan series. The team also has Vedant Dighade, Ananmay Jayaswal, Sanmesh Deshmukh, Dipesh Parwani, Vaibhav Chandekar among others.
Pagariya Strikers will be captained by Yash Kadam. The team also has quality players in Mohd Faiz, fast bowler Lalit, Aditya Ahuja, R Sanjay, R Samarth, Shivam Deshmukh, Sooraj Rai. It would be exciting to see how the teams fare in the tournament proper. All the teams have played ample practice matches where they ironed out their flaws and now it is the time to deliver.
Daily two matches will be played starting 2.30 pm. The tournament will be played in IPL-like format. Six teams will play each other once and will play two teams twice. Top four will make it to the playoffs. The Eliminator will be played between third and fourth placed teams while top two teams will play Qualifier 1. In Qualifier 2, the winner of Eliminator 1 will take on the loser of Qualifier 1. The final will be played on June 14.
Free entry for spectators at Jamtha Stadium
The stage is set for Vidarbha Premier League Season 2 which gets underway at the VCA’s Jamtha Stadium on Monday. The high profile T20 tournament will be inaugurated by VCA President Justice Vinay Deshpande (Retd) at a colourful opening ceremony at 6:00 pm. The opening ceremony will feature the unveiling of the VPL 2026 Trophy. The event will also feature all the six franchise captains signing the Pledge Board, highlighting the importance of playing the game in the true spirit of sportsmanship. The opening ceremony will be followed by the inaugural match at 7:30 pm.
The Women’s tournament begins on June 7 at the VCA Civil Lines Stadium. The women’s final will be played at the Jamtha Stadium at 2:30 pm on June 14, prior to the men’s final, which will start at 7:30 pm.
Free bus service
As part of VCA’s Public Awareness and Promotional Campaign, VCA has launched a joint initiative with NMC to promote use of EV buses and public transport, fuel conservation, sustainable urban mobility and traffic congestion in and around the stadium. The VCA has taken a special initiative for fans by arranging free bus service from Khapri Metro station to Jamtha Stadium and from the stadium to Sitabuldi after the match on all match days.
