A record 103 schools will participate in the Under-15 cricket tournament for the Himalaya Chyavanaprasha B.T.R Shield, which will begin in the city on July 27.

Apart from Bangalore, the tournament will be held in Hyderabad, Delhi, Lucknow / Kanpur, Jamshedpur / Ranchi / Bokaro region, the organizers said here on Monday. The winning team from each city will qualify for the Champions Trophy in Bangalore next January.

The top 16 teams of last year have been seeded straight into the second round. The remaining 87 teams have been divided into 29 groups and will play in a league format and the top team from each group will play a knock-out round till the last four have spotted. These four will join the 16 teams that gained direct entry and they will be divided into four zones of five each.

KSCA secretary Brijesh Patel said: "It is tough to get sponsors for junior events and Himalaya is doing a great job in this regard. This tournament, to be held in different parts of India, will provide good exposure to young cricketers. The Karnataka team is in the process of rebuilding. Right now, we have just two players from the state in the National squad and I think this is a cycle that even every state face. Hopefully, we can find new talent from such tournaments".