Pitch'er PERFECT

Cricket has long been known to endear celebrities and the Celebrity Cricket League that kickstarted on January 23 in Bengaluru will bring together the country’s biggest entertainment industries, cricket fraternity and films together.

The new season of CCL6 that started on Saturday, will see actors Sharmiela Mandre and Parvathy Nair as the brand ambassadors of The Karnataka Bulldozers team. We speak to the two pretty damsels of this franchise  owned by Ashok Kheny that has the best of Kannada film industry with captain Sudeep, coming together for an exciting match of cricket.

Sharmiela Mandre confesses to be super stoked as the brand ambassador for the Karnataka Bulldozers this year. “Karnataka Bulldozers battled against the Chennai Rhinos at Chinnaswamy Stadium on Sunday. I follow cricket and love watching all the cricket matches. I will be attending all the cricket matches for the next two weeks where Karnataka Bulldozers is playing, mainly in Bengaluru, Kochi, Chennai, Hyderabad and Chandigarh and I’m very confident that our team will make it to the semis and finals. I’m not just saying it because I’m the team’s ambassador, but because I genuinely feel that the team has phenomenal players. I’ve been following them from Season 1 and they give their heart and soul into the game. I will be on the ground cheering for our local team.

After the matches, I will continue to shoot for my film, Gandhigiri with Prem and being part of a reality show as a judge for a regional television channel. The matches are once a week, so I’ve planned my schedule in such a way that I’m shooting and back in time for being at the stadium to support whenever there’s a match. I share a great rapport with Sudeep as I’ve known him for many years and meet him at various functions. He’s a hardcore professional and very supportive of his team. Every single player is excellent,” says Mandre.

Another star hoping to see the team including Darsan, Rajeev, Tharun, Tarun, Dhruv, Vishwas, Pradeep, Rahul, Chetan, Dharma, Sunil, Jayaram, Abhimanyu, Mahes, Rajesh and Mayur bring the state honours is Parvathy Nair. “I’ve always been a huge cricket junkie. My dad and my brother have been cricket players at different state and club levels and I’ve always been watching all the matches closely, ever since I was a kid. If there was a CCL for girls, I would have loved to be a part of the team and play on the field. I was to be at IIFA Utsavam in Chennai on Sunday and cancelled my ticket to be at the stadium to support our team. As a brand ambassador I will be cheering for the team and have dedicated all the time required. I will be resuming my shoot for my films after and in between too and take off during the match days. I’m sure all the players will put in their best as they pitch against Mumbai Heroes, Bhojpuri Dabanggs, Bengal Tigers, Punjab De Sher, Telugu Warriors, Chennai Rhinos and Kerala Strikers,” Nair tells us.