Ludhiana is one of the eight cities across the country — Surat, Pune, Thane, Lucknow, Jalandhar, Kanpur and Nashik — from which four teams each will be selected at the preliminary stage. The four teams will compete against each other later this month. The eight winning teams will vie for the trophy.

The organisers, Mumbai-based Reasonable Communications Private Limited, are upbeat about the residents’ response to the game. The registration process has been going on for the last few days and the trials are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday at the Punjab Agricultural University ground.

To be eligible for selection, players have to be aged between 15 and 24 years and be residents of Punjab. The candidate should also not have played in first-class cricket ever.

“The game will be played in a professional manner with some interesting rules in place. Moreover, the tournament will be telecast live on DD Sports,” said Anoop Wadhwa, director of Reasonable Communications Private Limited, on the phone from Mumbai.