Mumbai Cricket Association Allocates Rs 500 Crore Corpus for Grassroots Cricket in Mumbai

The Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) has approved a Rs 500-crore corpus fund to support grassroots cricket across Mumbai over the next 10 years.

The decision was announced by MCA president Ajinkya Naik after the association’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the Wankhede Stadium on September 11.

The MCA will contribute Rs 40 crore every year to the fund and keep the money in fixed deposits. The interest earned will then be used to support maidan clubs, school clubs and college clubs.

“For grassroots cricket, we decided to allocate a corpus fund of Rs 500 crores. In the last AGM, we contributed Rs 100 crores and this time we did increase it to Rs 500 crores,” Naik said.

The fund is planned as an endowment, with the interest helping clubs meet their day-to-day cricket needs. This can include equipment, kits, facilities and logistics, depending on what each club requires.

“It’s like an endowment fund. You keep this Rs 500 crores in a fixed deposit, and from that fixed deposit, the interest gets distributed,” Naik explained.

The latest allocation is a major increase from the Rs 100-crore fund approved at the previous AGM. The MCA hopes the larger corpus will provide long-term financial support for local cricket and improve facilities across Mumbai.

Wankhede to honour Mumbai legends

The MCA also announced plans to name three lounges at the Wankhede Stadium after Sachin Tendulkar, Madhav Mantri and Ajinkya Rahane.

The association will also install a statue of former India captain and Mumbai batting great Dilip Vengsarkar at the stadium.

Meanwhile, the MCA said it will follow the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)’s position on the National Sports Governance Act, 2025.

“We have not discussed it. We will go by the BCCI decision,” Naik said.

The decisions mark a wider push by the MCA to strengthen Mumbai’s cricket system, while also recognising some of the city’s biggest cricketing names.