Aspect Sports has been awarded the operating rights for the Navi Mumbai franchise, the newest addition to the T20 Mumbai League, from the 2027 edition.

The franchise, which will take the league’s strength to nine teams, has been awarded for ₹106.88 crore for a six-year period, with the first season carrying a fee of ₹12.21 crore, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) announced on Wednesday.

It is understood that the average annual franchise fee of ₹17.81 crore is more than 50% of the highest fee than the existing eight franchises in the league.

The addition of Navi Mumbai is expected to expand the league’s footprint beyond its traditional Mumbai base and provide cricketers from the region with a pathway into the competition.

“The expansion of the T20 Mumbai League to Navi Mumbai is a significant milestone in our vision to take the game closer to every corner of the Mumbai cricketing ecosystem,” MCA president Ajinkya Naik said.

“The addition of a ninth franchise will not only broaden the league’s reach but also create greater opportunities for emerging cricketers to showcase their talent on a competitive platform.”

Rajdip Gupta, chairman of the T20 Mumbai League Governing Council, said the ninth franchise would help the league build a “stronger and more sustainable ecosystem” while creating greater value for its stakeholders.

Aspect Sports is owned by Aspect Global Ventures. Its executive chairperson Aksha Kamboj said the organisation viewed its association with the league as a step towards establishing a long-term presence across multiple sporting disciplines.

The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has invited bids for the right to operate a new franchise in the T20 Mumbai League, paving the way for the men’s competition to expand to nine teams.

The new franchise will represent Navi Mumbai, extending the league’s footprint beyond Mumbai and Thane, and potentially opening another avenue for cricketers from the MMR region.

The move comes less than two months after the completion of the fourth edition of the league in June. The season drew strong interest from spectators and produced competitive cricket, reinforcing the T20 Mumbai League’s position among India’s prominent franchise-based domestic T20 competitions.

The Navi Mumbai franchise will be the league’s first expansion since its inception, to feature nine teams, subject to the completion of the bidding process. League chairman Rajdip Gupta, during the 2026 edition, had stressed that the league will expand its footprint ahead of the 2027 edition.

Interested parties can collect the bid documents from the MCA office at the Cricket Centre, Wankhede Stadium, Churchgate, between August 10 and 25. The documents will be available between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. on working days.

The bid documents will be issued against a non-refundable fee of ₹2.5 lakh, payable through a Demand Draft in favour of the Mumbai Cricket Association. Prospective bidders can also make the payment through bank transfer using the account details specified in the tender notice available on the MCA’s official website.

Sujata Dey scored a half-century and Sreyoshi Aich captured four wickets as Adamas Howrah Warriors defeated Shrachi Rarh Tigers by 19 runs in the semifinals to book a spot in the women’s title clash of the Bengal T20 League at the Jadavpur University Ground here on Saturday.

Warriors posted a challenging 159 for five before restricting Rarh Tigers to 140 for nine.

Warriors’ openers Ankita Chakraborty (46, 42b, 6×4) and Sujata (77, 56b, 6×4, 4×6) gathered 106 runs to lay a solid foundation by the 14th over. The left-handed Sujata impressed by hitting her sixes on the onside.

Bristi Majhi’s lone fight (97 n.o., 61b, 6×4, 8×6) was in vain as she ran out of partners. Warriors’ Sreyoshi (four for 18) and Remondina Khatun (two for 23) did most of the damage.

Warriors will meet Murshidabad Kueens, which beat Servotech Siliguri Strikers by seven wickets. Tanushree Sarkar (three wickets and 26 runs) and Shivanshi Tiwari (58 n.o., 55b, 8×4) contributed to Kueens’ win.

In the men’s competition, captain Shahbaz Ahmed’s all-round showing, Rohit Kumar’s four wicket-haul and Sumanta Gupta’s unbeaten 47 helped Shrachi Rarh Tigers record a commanding seven-wicket win over Novus Royals Purulia and earn a place in the final.

The scores (semifinals): Men: Nous Royals Purulia 107 in 18.2 overs (Lokesh 48, Shahbaz Ahmed 2/31, Rohit Kumar 4/24, Sukhmeet Singh 2/7) lost to Shrachi Rarh Tigers 110/3 in 12.1 overs (Sumanta Gupta 47 n.o., Shahbaz Ahmed 31).

Women: Adamas Howrah Warriors 159/5 in 20 overs (Ankita Chakraborty 46, Sujata Dey 77, Piyali Ghosh 3/24) bt Shrachi Rarh Tigers 140/9 in 20 overs (Bristi Majhi 97 n.o., Remondina Khatun 2/23, Sreyoshi Aich 4/18).

Servotech Siliguri Strikers 129/7 in 20 overs (Dyuti Paul 49, Priyanka Bala 45, Jahnabi Paswan 2/22, Tanushree Sarkar 3/30) lost to Murshidabad Kueens 130/3 in 18.1 overs (Shivanshi Tiwari 58, Tanushree Sarkar 26).