Kerala Strikers, the new star-studded team from the State captained by superstar Mohanlal, is getting ready to compete in the second edition of the Celebrity Cricket League, the T-20 cricket tournament organised exclusively for film stars starting in January.
The team will play five matches from January 21 to February 12 and Kochi is expected to be one of the venues. There will be 15 league matches, 2 semi-finals and a final.
The team will have a heady mix of crowd-pullers from cinema and cricket. With Mohanlal as Captain and Indrajith as Vice-Captain, the other heavyweights in the team are Unni Mukundan, Rajive Pillai, Vinu Mohan, Bala, Prithviraj, Kunjacko Bobban, Asif Ali, Nikhil, Nivin Pauly, Munna, SaijuKurup, Bineesh Kodiyery, Manikuttan, VivekGopan, RiazAhemmed, Prejoth Kalabhavan and Rejith Menon. The coach of the team is Pankaj Chandrasenan Nair and Manager is Edavela Babu.
At a function held here, actor Mammootty launched the jersey of the team by handling it over to actor Indrajith, Vice-Captain.
The team is owned by MLS Strikers and Entertainment Pvt Ltd, a newly formed Chennai-based company promoted by Mohanlal, Mr Shaji P.M. a Chennai-based businessman and Managing Director of Cold Point - a 33 year old air-conditioning company in south India, and Ms Lissie Priyadarshan, wife of National Award-winning Director Priyadarshan.
The company is seeking corporate sponsors and talks are on with some leading business houses. It has invested more than Rs 3 crore including Rs 90 lakh as franchisee fee.
AMMA, Association of Malayalam Actors, has extended its support to the venture and will be playing a major part in CCL this season.
Last year, there were four teams representing the Tamil, Bollywood and Kannada industries. Another team getting ready for the CCL this season is the Bengal Tigers promoted by Mr Boney Kapoor, producer of Bollywood films and husband of actor Sridevi.
The first edition of CCL concluded on June 12 with the Chennai Rhinos beating the Karnataka Bulldozers in the finals. With two more teams in the league, the second season of CCL is expected to be an exciting, action-packed event.