A game of new chances

Cricket and films are national obsessions. The popularity and mass appeal enjoyed by cricketers and stars are phenomenal.

What happens when a platform brings the game and the stars together on a level playing field? That was Celebrity Cricket League. More than the game, the bonhomie and recognition that it provided are immense and stars have beautiful memories of the game.

Today, the members of Kerala Strikers find themselves flush with film offers. Has the game changed their career course? Rajeev Pillai, the toast of the Kerala Team, is perhaps the man who has gained the most and he affirms, “I was unknown till CCL happened!

Today, when strangers come and talk to me, I have only one platform to thank CCL! Outside Kerala, people tell me that they have not seen my films but know me through CCL.

It has been the biggest launch pad for me and the best part is that, I am also recognised as a cricketer other than an actor because of which I get more respect.

” Soon after the Kochi match, director Priyadarshan offered Rajeev a role in Malamaal Weekly 2 and since then it has been an avalanche of films like My Fan Ramu, Kaash, Karmayodha, Left Right Left and some untitled ones.

One among the rising stars today, Rajeev recollects some special moments, “My parents are big fans of Mohanlal but somehow, I was very shy to call up Lal sir and ask him to speak to my parents.

But, after the match, my parents spoke to Lal sir and that was a proud moment for me. I also got a chance to speak to Mohanlal’s mother over phone, which was an unforgettable moment.”

Stars like Munna, Rajat Menon, Prajod, Bineesh etc have also seen a resurrection in their careers. A deep bond has formed between all the members and they continue to keep in touch. Nikhil and Saiju Kurup, busy with their maiden directorial and scripting venture My Fan Ramu, has got almost the entire team onboard.

Nikhil says, “Everybody took part in CCL because of their passion for the game. Nobody came in expecting offers or to further their careers or establish themselves. Nevertheless, the platform provided a shortcut to fame and my film is a gathering of my friends with no business angle to it.”

Saiju is happy about the deep bond of friendship the game has brought in, with all of them meeting up every three months. “Personally, I have become more disciplined and punctual because of the game,” he says. Rajeev adds in a lighter vein, “The Bhavana link-up made sure that my face was carried in the Tamil and Telugu papers, making me famous there too.”

SEASON 2 OPENING WEEKEND: EXCITEMENT, EMOTIONS AND ENTERTAINMENT

The second season of Celebrity Cricket League was underway on 13th January with superstars of the Indian film industry coming together to share their love of cricket with their fans.

The first game of tournament was a thrilling tie between Mumbai Heroes and Telugu Warriors. The second game, featuring Chennai Rhinos and Mumbai Heroes, saw the Bollywood stars edging by the last season’s champions. The third match saw Karnataka Bulldozers scoring a record-breaking 252 runs against new entrants, Bengal Tigers.

With so much action on the field, emotions were running high all weekend!

There was entertainment…

There was suspense…

There was comedy…

And there was definitely action!

What was your favourite part of CCL Season 2′s opening weekend? Share your favourite moments in the comments section.

CELEBRITY CRICKET LEAGUE

Cricket Matches Schedule 2012-2013

Cricket Matches Schedule 2012-2013

Cricket Matches Schedule 2012

Celebrity Cricket League super six 

ccl cricket

Priyamani keeping tab on Sachiin's movements?

Priyamani and Sachiin Joshi, who were allegedly at loggerheads during last Celebrity Cricket League (CCL), seems to have sorted out their differences. The surprising part of the story is that their friendship has grown by leaps and bounds.

According to a leading daily, Priyamani is very concerned about Sachiin these days. More importantly, she is keeping a tab on whom he hangs around with. It was revealed after Vimala Raman, who is working with Sachiin in Bollywood film Mumbai Mirror, received a text recently from Priya asking where she was.

When Vimala Raman said that she was in Mumbai shooting her Bollywood film, Priyamani instantly replied her asking with whom she was partying and where she was! This left both Vimala and Sachiin wondering how Priya came to know about the party, as they have not informed it to many.

Earlier, during last CCL, there were reports of Sachiin teasing Priyamani at a party after a match. It was later connected with the actress' BBM status saying how she hates a certain "S _ _ _ _ n of Mumbai Heroes (sic)." However, later she clarified that it was not referring to him and all was well between them. "I know Sachiin as I was introduced to him at the party. I know several of his teammates as I was involved with the tournament last year. We exchanged pleasantries and that's all," she declared.

Tollywood star Mahesh babu looking for CCL3!!!!!

After bouncing back with a couple of hits on the silver screen, Tollywood star Mahesh Babu, we learn, is likely to enter a new arena.

According to a highly reliable source, who is a member of the CCL organising committee, talks are on to rope in Mahesh as the non-playing captain of the Telugu team, while Venkatesh will continue to lead the team on field.
If the talks work out, this will be the first time that the reticent star will be participating in a big Tollywood event. Talking about the decision to rope in Mahesh for the CCL, the source says, "Previously, Venkatesh was the only star in the team and we were criticised that the footfalls would have been higher had other big names participated in the team. So, this time we had decided to get superstar Mahesh Babu on board. And we are expecting the crowds to get just bigger."
Also speculation is rife that Mahesh was offered a hefty amount for the same. However, the star who admittedly played cricket at the college level, is also known for his keen interest in the game. In one of his rare outings, Mahesh was spotted watching the World Cup 2011 finals played in Mumbai.

a news from times of india

elebrity Cricket League 2 Final Chennai Rhinos beat Karnataka Bulldozers by one run to lift the Celebrity Cricket League cup

Celebrity Cricket League 2 Final

Chennai Rhinos beat Karnataka Bulldozers by one run to lift the Celebrity Cricket League cup

Cricket and movies are engraved in India's DNA. While IPL made cricket look like a pop movie, the filmwalahs discovered a better way to set the cash registers ringing. They decided to take to the cricket field and battle it out on the greens.

MSN captures Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Malayalam, Bengali cinema biggies sweating it out with the cherry and the willow. Click on, for a front stand view of Celebrity Cricket League 2.

CCL T20

CCL T20 2012 Season 2 starts from 13 Jan 2012 and Final Match will be Played on 12 Feb.There are Total 6 teams will be Participates in this Celebrity Cricket League T20 2012. Here is Team names Bengal Tigers, Kerala Strikers, Mumbai Heroes,Telugu Warriors, Karnataka Bulldozers,Chennai Rhinos.

CCL 2012 T20 Championship Team standings and Points Table Online. Table will be Updated Frequently after the Every Match.

CCL 2012 T20 Schedule, Results and Live Scores

CCL T20 2012 Points table and Team standings

Team	Played	Won	Lost	No Result	Points	NRR
Telugu Warriors	5	4	0	1	9	1.060
Karnataka Bulldozers	5	3	2	0	6	2.261
Mumbai Heroes	5	2	2	1	5	0.116
Chennai Rhinos	5	2	3	0	4	-0.307
kerala Strikers	5	2	3	0	4	-1.699
Bengal Tigers	5	1	4	0	2	-1.533

Points Calculations:
	Won (W): 2
	Tied (T): 1
	Lost (L): 0
	Abandoned without a ball bowled (A): 1
	Total points (Pts)
	Net run rate (runs per over scored less runs per over conceded, adjusting team batting first to overs of team batting second in rain rule matches, adjusting to team's full allocation if all out, and ignoring no result matches) (NetRR)

Sudeep finds no time for cricket matches!

Sudeep, who headed the Karnataka team in CCL matches, is busy shooting for films now, and finds no time to participate in cricket matches. The actor, who was expected to lead the Sandalwood team in an upcoming Super Six cricket tournament, will not lead the team or participate in the cricket matches.

The actor said that he headed the Sandalwood team in the CCL matches, to contribute money for the welfare of Karnataka Cine Arts Association’s associate building, in the city. He said that Sandalwood has already spent 4-5 months in playing cricket matches and now Sandalwood stars should do something for the benefit of the industry.

CCL

On being quizzed about his future projects, Sudeep said, “I am currently busy with Varadhanayaka. I still have a song and a fight sequence to shoot. I am also busy penning the script of a movie, and I will direct it as well. But, contrary to reports it is not a short film. I am excited about the release of my Tamil- Telugu bilingual Eega that hits the screens on May 30. Also, I have also committed to 7-8 Kannada projects, so I have my hands full.”

celebrity cricket league

celebrity cricket league

ccl news 2012

The second edition of the CCL, a Twenty20 tournament

The CCL pitches for glamour, entertainment and exposure. Will it become a route for aspiring cricketers to enter tinsel town?

The Indian Premier League may not be grabbing the eyeballs. Public response to the latest edition is on a downswing and so too are the TRP ratings. But this diminishing marginal utility does not seem to curve towards the Celebrity Cricket League (CCL). This law of economics says that the more you have of something, the less likely you are to want some more of it.

Passage to cricket

The second edition of the CCL, a Twenty20 tournament that features celebrities from tinseldom, turned out to be a huge hit and aspiring cricketers are attempting to jump on to the CCL bandwagon. Professional club cricketers are now being squeezed into films providing them a passage to the CCL in the coming season. Many fear that this will dilute the charm of the league. People watch the CCL not for copybook cricket but to see the stars in action, even if cricket is not all that good.

“Look at this in two ways. So many youngsters long to get into films. This is one way to fulfil that ambition. For good cricketers the CCL provides a platform to extend their cricketing careers. And if they are interested in films this is their best chance. But this does not mean that the teams will be packed with cricketers. The CCL rules are clear. Only four players can be included and even they should have acted in a minimum of four films with at least 10-minutes of dialogue. It may not be all that easy,” says D. Chandrasenan Nair, former state cricketer and coach of Amma Kerala Strikers, one of the two teams added to the league in 2011.

Self-destructive

But Chandrasenan understands that making the CCL more competitive by relaxing the existing rules to include more ‘professional' cricketers could be self-destructive. “We have put forward a few suggestions like insisting that the icons of the teams, most of them superstars, play at least one match. They must not only play but also bat, or at least bowl one over in the match. The league has become so popular that many actors, who have played cricket, have asked if they could be included. Some of them are not members of Amma, which again is a technical problem. Kerala Strikers plan to conduct open trials before picking the team for the next edition.”

Actor Indrajit, vice-captain of Kerala Strikers, also believes that the CCL should not move away from its original concept. “In fact, I discussed this with our team and the franchisees at the end of the event. There is an attempt to bring in cricketers into the league. This number has to be restricted. The crowds that packed the Kochi stadium, I'm certain, did not come to judge us as cricketers”

Many hardcore cricket fans have found the whole event ‘ridiculous.' “Here we have celebrities, some of them obese, unable to move, some hardly able to run, make a mockery of cricket,” feels Vinod, a college student.

But there are many others who prefer to believe that the CCL is good entertainment with exciting cricket thrown in. Many felt it was foolish to compare the CCL to the IPL and felt that they should be approached and appreciated differently.

“Don't look at only those who are slow on the field. For every such player there is a Rajeev Pillai or Manikuttan or Rajeev and Bhaskar, Srikanth and Rishi in the different teams. I saw some of the matches and I found that there were players who could hit the ball hard and far, strike the odd cover drive, bowlers who did well, and some outstanding fielders,” avers Rajesh, a marketing executive.

Lissy Priyadarshan, joint franchisee owner of Kerala Strikers, along with actor Mohanlal and entrepreneur P. M. Shaji, is upbeat about her team's performance in its first year. She confesses that they did not make a profit, but were satisfied to be part of a unifying event. And, of course, there was the happiness and pride of fielding a spirited side in the league.

Good for some

“The team played really well. The league did a lot of good to some of the actors who were otherwise struggling to get projects. Take Rajeev Pillai for example. He is much-sought after by producers now, has a growing fan following that includes filmmakers and technicians. He has signed a few good projects after his fine show in the CCL. Regarding inclusion of cricketers in films, just to make them play for the CCL is not that easy. We are not going to bend the rules to suit them. If cricketers comply with the rules I find no harm in them playing,” says Lissy.

There is more cricket in store for the celebrities before the next CCL.

“A Super Sixes cricket tournament for celebrity teams will be held in Malaysia sometime in July. Kerala Strikers will surely take part in it. We'll have a good team for the Malaysia event and surely a well-prepared unit for the next CCL edition,” informs Lissy.

With celebrity cricket on a roll it won't be a surprise to see more and more cricketers making a beeline to films.

CCL T20 2012: Celebrity Cricket League 2012 Brand Ambassadors List.

Celebrity Cricket League Brand Ambassadors:

• Shriya Saran

• Kajal Agarwal

• Priyamani

• Deeksha Seth

• Madhuri Bhattacharya

• Payal Sarkar

Mumbai Heroes Brand Ambassadors

• Sonakshi Sinha

• Kangana Ranaut

• Genelia D Souza

Telugu Warriors Brand Ambassadors

• Richa Gangopadhyay

• Charmi

Chennai Rhinos Brand Ambassadors

• Sameera Reddy

• Amala Paul

Karnataka Bulldozers Brand Ambassadors

• Aindrita Ray

• Nidhi Subbaiah

Kerala Strikers Brand Ambassadors

• Laxmi Rai

• Bhavna

Bengal Tigers Brand Ambassadors

• Riya Sen

• Raima Se

Celebrity cricket considers Malaysia Saif bet

KOCHI: The diaspora in Malaysia will be treated to three days of unadulterated entertainment as an all-star cast that boasts of Mohanlal, Saif Ali Khan, Bobby Deol and Tamil hero Vikram, among others, will square off against each other in a series of super-six matches.

Celebrity Cricket League (CCL) is set to go international as actors from Bollywood and its counterparts in regional cinema will take time off from under the klieg lights to shoot the breeze at extra cover. The meeting of the franchisees and governing body of CCL to be held on Saturday will take a decision on final schedule of the matches.

Karnataka Bulldozers owner asks for finale rematch

CCL: Karnataka Bulldozers owner asks for finale rematch


The Chennai Rhinos  beat the Karnataka Bulldozers in the finals of the Celebrity Cricket League  by one run, which explains the intensity of the match. However, owner of KB, Ashok Kheny does not seem to be happy with the result and has asked the management of CCL for a rematch.


Kheny said this should be done in order to safeguard the spirit of the game. Speaking to a television channel, he said, “Boys players were reluctant to collect the runners-up trophy because morally we won the match. But I walked out to receive in the last minute to save the credibility of CCL. Actors should be role models but here they have set a bad example.”


The Bulldozers weren’t a happy unit with the decision that shattered its dreams of lifting the cup. In the final over, bowler Vikranth removed the bails from the stumps when the non-striker Karthik left the crease before the ball was delivered. In the actual practice, it is considered etiquette to warn a batsman that he is leaving his crease early, before attempting a run out on a subsequent ball.


“Cricket is supposed to be a gentleman’s game but this decision was made at the cost of the spirit of the game. Even in international matches, the batsman is first warned and then, if he repeats it, the bowler can run him out. Although the umpires were against it, the adamant Chennai team had their way,” he added.


He added, “I have asked the organisers to conduct another final to give a fair chance to both the teams and also to safeguard the spirit of the game and CCL,” When asked did he back the team's decision to boycott the presentation ceremony, “I don't want to be a hypocrite. They were obviously upset and they had a reason. I stood by their decision. How can you chill out with someone who has raped you?”

ccl cricket league

The CCL cricket league is the league conducted by the celebrates and film related personnel's. 

ccl news

the ccl news is to waiting for CCLTHIRD SECESSION