Celebrity Cricket League 2027: Want to play cricket with your favourite stars? Here’s how to secure a wild card entry

Celebrity Cricket League: The Celebrity Cricket League was meant to open its doors to fans in the 2026 season, but that did not pan out. They have not discarded those plans, though

Here's your chance to be a part of this team huddle

At the end of the Celebrity Cricket League (CCL) season in 2025, Kiccha Sudeep, the captain of the Karnataka Bulldozers and one of the most ardent supporters of the tournament, had announced that they would introduce a system that allows teams to have fan participation as players. Season 12, which kickstarts on January 16, 2026, was supposed to ring in the initiative, but didn’t. The plan, though, is still afoot, say the organizers, promising that CCL Season 13 in 2027 will have fans playing with their favourite stars.

How to be a part of CCL 2027’s wild card scheme

Last year, when Sudeep had said that they were looking at 2 players per team and had laid down a bunch of ground rules to be eligible. The organizers have not clarified if that number remains the same, but have opened registrations for the wild card scheme for the 2027 season of the tournament.

On the CCL official portal, there is a link to register with basic details, specialty (bowler, batsman, all-rounder), and a column to indicate which team the aspirant is keen to play with. The next step is to make a payment of Rs 1499. Once the registration is accepted, there will be physical trial, the schedule and venues of which will be announced shortly. Trials will be held across all major cities in India, promise the organizers. Qualified players will get the chance to join their favourite team and play alongside the stars.

Also read: Celebrity Cricket League 2026: Day 1 January 16 match schedule, rules, live streaming

The terms and conditions listed for registration are about the payment and not the eligibility criteria, although, they had earlier said that the candidates should not be professional cricketers, having represented any district, state, etc.

Also read: Celebrity Cricket League 2025 final: Punjab De Sher are the new champions; make light work of the Chennai Rhinos

Where to watch CCL 2026?

CCL 2026 begins on January 16 and winds up on February 1, with a season cut short to 3 weekends of cricketing action only. Each team plays 3 group stage matches each and the top 4 proceed to the semi-finals. This time, the matches are being played as regular T20 and not in Test format. All the matches will be live streamed on JioHotstar (via OTTplay Premium also), with the first match scheduled between the Karnataka Bulldozers and defending champions Punjab De Sher.

CCL FAQs

Q. When is Season 12 of CCL starting?

A. Season 12 of the Celebrity Cricket League begins on January 16, 2026. Eight teams are in the fray, with the winner getting a prize of Rs 50L.

Q. Which team is the defending champions of CCL?

A. Punjab De Sher is the reigning champions of CCL.

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