Conceived by Saran Sports, the tournament, which commenced on Jan, 28 at the Western Railway Ground in Mahalaxmi, Mumbai, will see over 100 teams participating. The matches will be played over the weekends in a league-cum-knockout basis. The event was inaugurated by R. Gopalakrishnan, ED, Tata Sons.

Speaking on the occasion, Rohit Adya, CEO, Mumbai, Vodafone India said: "Vodafone is happy to associate with the Corporate Cricket 7s as we always support such sports initiatives to encourage the ‘fun at work' culture that we follow. It is an excellent platform to strengthen our relationship with large enterprises and help us add value to their business."

Sanjiv Saran Mehra, CEO, Saran Sports, is the brain behind this format, which he introduced in 1997. He said: "In a fast paced contemporary world, where corporate bigwigs are zooming ahead, the CC7s serve as a stress free forum in a relaxed environment,away from the pressures of work place. It is an ideal platform for executives to relive their school and college days and fulfils the aspirations of amateurs wanting to play competitive cricket. The rules are structured in a manner to ensure that only amateurs play". The boundary line is short and each innings is of seven overs. No bowler can bowl more that two overs, and a batsman retires at a score of 30.

These teams will include leading CEOs like R. Gopalakrishnan, ED, Tata Sons; Ajay Srinivasan, CEO, Aditya Birla Financial Services; Navalbir Kumar, MD, IDFC Mutual Fund; and R. Suresh, MD, Stantonchase International.

The participating teams include RBS, Baskin Robbins, Cadbury, GSK, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank Group, Ernst & Young, HSBC, Tata Sons, and HUL, amongst others. These teams will vie for top honours in the Open Category (Champions Cup, Salver and Bowl), Seniors Cup, Super Cup and CEOs Cup.