That cricket will get a grand share of Bollywood was apparent when superstar Shah Rukh Khan bought the Kolkata franchise of the Indian Premier League.
But other franchises had made their intentions evident by not falling behind, as Bollywood heartthrob Akshay Kumar has been signed on by the Delhi Daredevils as its brand ambassador.
The announcement was made at a ceremony in the Capital on Monday, which also featured the likes of captain and 'Icon player' Virender Sehwag, local lad Gautam Gambhir, Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik as well as Mohammad Asif; one of the premier fast bowlers in the world.
But the centre of attention of course was Akshay, who played down all talk of a rivalry with the other big IPL face from Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan.
'My heart beats for Delhi. I consider myself a 'pucca Dilliwallah'. I would like to thank the GMR group for letting me become the first fan of Delhi Daredevils,'' Akshay said.
He also added "Although I work in films, I am an ardent follower of sports, especially cricket. I am from Delhi, so you should be proud and keep movies and songs aside. Let's get together for the game," the star famous for his action stunts, said.
He also unveiled the team colours at the function.
Welcoming the superstar, GMR Sports Chairman Srinivas Bommidala said, ''The GMR group has a very close relationship with Delhi.
We are in the process of gifting Delhi a world-class airport.Now, with Delhi Daredevils, we want to make Delhi a world-class city for sport and take Indian sports to a new level.''
Sehwag, too, was confident that his team will put in a strong show in the tournament, and entertain while they are at it.
"My personal target will be to perform consistently in the Twenty20 games and I hope to do well for my team. I have to lead from the front," Sehwag, who hammered 319 in the recently concluded first Test against South Africa in Chennai, said.
"Bollywood has its own space, and so does cricket. But Twenty20 is a package made to entertain. Bollywood is the greatest entertainer for the Indian public. So marrying Bollywood with cricket promises more entertainment.
"The public wants full worth of his money spent for the game, and if a fan gets to watch his favourite movie star along with some great cricket, nothing like it," the flamboyant batsman added.
Also present at the function Shoaib Malik said, ''I'm from Lahore, a city not very different from Delhi in the daredevil spirit. I feel at home with this team and this city. It's great to be a part of a unique marriage between cricket and films. I am sure this will lead to more and more people enjoying cricket and support Delhi Daredevils.'' The Delhi Daredevils will play their first game at the Ferozshah Kotla against Team Jaipur on April 19 2008.
1 comment:
Nice post. Here is an interesting video where Shahrukh Khan admits on a TV Show says that Akshay Kumar, who is Brand Ambassador of Delhi Daredevils team is the real Daredevil and that too before the war of game begins. Do dare to check it out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDa6NbjxFhM&eurl=http://www.delhidaredevils.com/blog
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