CCL: Chennai Rhinos all the way

Jun 17, 2011 - V. BALAJI |

chennai

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The spotlights have just got bigger and the marquee names of Tamil filmdom are not complaining.

The Celebrity Cricket League, conceptualized by actor Abbas and entrepreneur MA Parthasarathy has hit the right notes. If the following CCL enjoyed during the inaugural season is any indication, the league is here to stay.

“We put the league together as it gave a chance to the film fraternity to come together as one big family. The Chennai Rhinos started practising well in advance and it showed in our performance on the field.
What we need at the moment is recognition for the cricket we play. There has been too much ridicule going around and all we want to say is we are not playing these games for fun but with a lot of pride,” said Abbas.

The Rhinos gave the city a lot more to cheer about after the Chennai Super Kings defended the IPL title successfully. The CCL is modelled after the IPL and Abbas readily accepts.

“Each team has a principal sponsor and an owner. The Rhinos is owned by the GVR Group. We are adding two more teams next year. Boney Kapoor and director Priyadarshan are to own the Bengal and Kerala teams respectively”, explained Abbas.

The Chennai team had a professional set-up. The champions were coached by former state cricketer AP Suresh Kumar and D. Sashikant. Former TN Ranji physio Hamsraj is in charge of the fitness regime.

“We have left nothing to chance, it is serious cricket. The fun elements can wait. In fact we are planning a beach cricket league in the future where the frolic factor will be high”, added Abbas.

Abbas who led the side was all praise for Vikranth and Vishnu who turned in special performances.

“Those guys were great but I think everyone chipped in. The team spirit was the singular reason behind our success. A few days after celebrating the win we felt something was missing and all of us assembled at a hotel just to relive the moment”, said Abbas.

The CCL enjoys a ten-year contract with the founders. The players and men behind the event are confident it will grow nicely in the coming years.

If the inaugural edition is anything to go by, the rise should be high and mighty.

Stars speak

Vikranth

"The CCL is a brilliant concept. The team spirit was unbelievable. All the four teams took the tournament seriously and that I am sure that was the reason behind the improvement in quality.

Personally it turned out to be an excellent tournament, inspite of a slow start I struck form in the last two games. I am already looking forward to the next season."

Vishnu

"It was an awesome experience. Having played the game professionally before I entered movies, I knew what it took. Was happy to contribute to the success of the Rhinos. The reason behind our success was the way we jelled as a team.

My dream was to play in front of a big crowd and I have lived that dream through CCL."

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