New Delhi [India], December 8 (ANI): The Delhi Capitals (DC) on Monday announced the DC School Cup, a new inter-school T20 tournament that will be organised to develop grassroot cricketers across the national capital.

The two-week competition will run from December 8 to 23 in the capital, with matches taking place at the GMR Aerocity Ground. The grand finale will be hosted at Delhi Capitals' home venue, the Arun Jaitley Stadium, offering schoolchildren a true dream-come-true experience, according to a DC release.

The inaugural edition will feature 18 schools from across Delhi competing for top honours across both boys' and girls' categories. This includes a dedicated girls' tournament with four participating teams, introduced at a time when enthusiasm for women's cricket is at an all-time high. The initiative not only provides young girls with a meaningful competitive platform but also strengthens Delhi Capitals' broader efforts to champion women's cricket at the grassroots level.

Speaking about the DC School Cup, Sunil Gupta, CEO, Delhi Capitals, said, 'At Delhi Capitals, our mission is to create a Pathway to Excellence for young players, and the DC School Cup is another step in that direction. This initiative reflects our commitment to engaging with schools and nurturing budding cricketers at the grassroots level. At the same time, it is about deepening our engagement with Delhi as a city and embedding ourselves further into its cultural fabric.'

'School cricket is a vibrant part of Delhi's sporting identity, and through this tournament, we hope to celebrate that spirit while giving young cricketers the platform they truly deserve. We look forward to strengthening the cricketing ecosystem in Delhi,' he added.

The DC School Cup (Boys) will follow a T20 format, with 16 teams divided into four groups of four. Each team will play the others in their group in a round-robin format, with the top team from each group advancing to the semi-finals, followed by the final.

A total of 27 matches will be played over 10 business days across two venues, with two games per venue per day.

The standout performers from both tournaments will earn a direct opportunity to participate in state-level trials, helping build a credible talent pipeline for Delhi cricket and giving young players a strong platform to shine.

Two schools will field both boys' and girls' teams, with 16 schools participating in the boys' category and 4 in the girls' category.

The full list of participating schools is as follows:

Delhi Capitals School Cup - Boys (16 Schools)1. Air Force Bal Bharati School - Lodhi Road2. American EduGlobal School - Ghaziabad3. Delhi Public School, Mathura Road4. Delhi Public School, RK Puram5. Delhi Public School, Vasant Kunj6. GD Goenka Public School - Vasant Vihar7. The Indian School - Sadiq Nagar8. Kulachi Hansraj Model School - Ashok Vihar9. Laxman Public School - Hauz Khas10. Modern School, Barakhamba Road11. Modern School, Vasant Vihar12. Salwan Public School - Rajender Nagar13. St. Mark's Sr. Sec. Public School - Meera Bagh14. St. Thomas' School - Dwarka15. St. Xavier's School - Gurgaon16. Gyan Bharati School - Saket

Delhi Capitals School Cup - Girls (4 Schools)

1. Modern School, Barakhamba Road2. Delhi Public School, RK Puram3. Cambridge School, Srinivaspuri4. Shri Ram Global School - Delhi West (Tikri Border Metro)

At the end of the first day's matches, St. Xavier's High School, Gurgaon beat Gyan Bharati School by six wickets in Match 1, with Dhaval Shah starring by scoring 50* off 35 to chase down a modest total of 121 and open the tournament on a high for his team; in the second match, American Edu Global School defeated DPS, Mathura Road by 36 runs, thanks to Ansh Chaudhary's composed 70* from 61 balls to post 182/3, while Golu Dangi impressed with the ball, finishing with 2/2 as DPS RK Puram collapsed to 146 all out. (ANI)