Kabuni officially launched its India journey in spectacular style on June 7, bringing cricket, technology, legends and the next generation of talent together at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai.
Kabuni Playtime 2026 marked a major milestone for the brand, as Kabuni unveiled its vision for the future of cricket development and officially opened registrations for the Kabuni Premier League - a new national competition giving young cricketers aged 12 - 16 the chance to play for a cricketing legend.
From the moment guests arrived, the atmosphere was electric. Close to 800 attendees, including school leaders, educators, parents, young players, media, investors, technology partners and figures from across sport and business, came together for the first major look at how Kabuni plans to transform cricket coaching and player development in India.
Opening the event, Kabuni Founder and CEO Nimesh Patel set out the company’s bold ambition: to make high-quality cricket coaching more accessible to young players everywhere through technology. He also confirmed that registrations for the Kabuni Premier League are now officially open, marking the next major step in Kabuni’s India rollout.
At the heart of the launch was a powerful promise: to give young cricketers the chance to be seen, supported, developed and inspired by some of the biggest names in the game.
The Kabuni Premier League: Season One Will Be Massive
The Kabuni Premier League is being built to become India’s leading national sports competition for young people aged 12 to 16.
Season One will bring together ten founding school groups, ten iconic teams and ten Super Coaches. Each founding school group will nominate up to 100 girls and 100 boys to enter the same professional assessment, development and selection pathway.
From each group, 30 girls and 30 boys will be selected for an extended development programme led by a dedicated Kabuni Head Coach, working alongside the school’s coaches and supported by the Kabuni Academy, technology and monthly performance reporting.
The final 15 girls and 15 boys will represent their iconic team in the Kabuni Premier League. The remaining development players will continue competing through the Kabuni Schools League, ensuring the pathway creates meaningful opportunities beyond the final team selection.
The competition will begin in April 2027 and culminate in the Kabuni Premier League Finals in May 2027. Throughout the season, players and schools will be brought to life through national content, player stories, team launches, match coverage and the support of some of cricket’s most recognised names.
This is far more than a cricket tournament. It is the beginning of a national school sports platform connecting participation, coaching, competition, technology, education and media.
Cricket is only the first chapter. The Kabuni Premier League will expand across multiple sports and, over time, into new countries.
Season One will be massive.
Cricket Legends Take Centre Stage
One of the loudest moments of the day came when hosts Ridhima Pathak and Tanay Tiwari welcomed Kabuni’s Super Coaches to the stage.
The line-up brought together some of the most exciting names in world cricket: former India captain Sourav Ganguly, one of the most influential figures in modern Indian cricket; former Australian all-rounder Shane Watson, a World Cup winner and two-time Allan Border Medallist; AB de Villiers, the former South Africa captain and one of the most innovative batters the game has ever seen; and Shreyas Iyer, one of the leading faces of India’s current generation.
For the young players in the room, it was more than a launch moment. It was a glimpse of what Kabuni is building - a platform where the next generation can connect with, learn from and compete for the chance to play under true cricketing legends.
Each Super Coach was paired with a young protégé before stepping into the first public demonstration of K10, Kabuni’s new interactive cricket format.
Playmakers Crowned First K10 Champions
The K10 Challenge became the centrepiece of Kabuni Playtime 2026.
Fast, competitive and packed with energy, K10 blended live cricket with digital gameplay, personalised avatars, live scoring and real-time visual feedback. The result was a first glimpse of how Kabuni is reimagining cricket practice, performance and entertainment.
Four teams competed on stage, with each Super Coach partnering a young teammate in a high-intensity challenge where every ball mattered and every shot shifted the leaderboard.
The crowd followed every moment as the competition built towards its final result. At the end of the challenge, AB de Villiers & Shiv Rohan Mhatre, representing the Playmakers, emerged victorious to become the first-ever K10 Champions.
It was a fitting highlight for an event built around possibility: legends competing, young players stepping up, and technology bringing the action to life in a completely new way.
The Future of Cricket is here
The event concluded with a fireside discussion exploring the future of cricket development and the role technology can play in helping players understand and improve their game.
Throughout Playtime 2026, Kabuni demonstrated how its platform combines AI, biomechanics, motion tracking and performance data to deliver personalised coaching insights. Built around continuous improvement, the platform is designed to help players identify the small adjustments that can make a meaningful difference over time.
A consistent theme throughout the day was Kabuni’s ambition to make advanced coaching tools and genuine cricket opportunities more accessible to young players. As Patel explained during the launch, the long-term goal is to see a Kabuni product in every cricket kit bag.
With registrations now open at Kabuni.com, the focus now shifts to the young cricketers across India ready to take their chance.
For players aged 12 - 16, the Kabuni Premier League is an opportunity to compete, improve, get noticed and play for one of the legends of the game.
Kabuni Playtime 2026 was the spark. The next chapter belongs to the young players of India.
