IPL gets Bollywood-studded

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Kolkata, Mumbai, Apr 9: The Indian Premier League’s entertainment quotient just got hotter - and more filmy. While Shah Rukh Khan will shake a leg or two for his team Kolkata Knight Riders’ matches, colleague Akshay Kumar will show his stunts for the Delhi Daredevils and dancing superstar Hrithik Roshan will do his thing for the Mumbai Indians.

Though R Balachandran, president and chief marketing officer, Reliance Retail, who is also in charge of the franchise of the Mumbai Indians IPL team, neither confirmed nor denied the news, it’s an ‘open secret’ that Roshan will bat for the Mukesh Ambani-owned Mumbai Indians. The buzz is that at least two IPL teams are in talks with Saif Ali Khan too.

What’s more, the inaugural show prior to the match on April 18 is also going to be a Bollywood-studded event. According to IPL sources, Katrina Kaif, who’s now one of the top paid actresses of Bollywood after dishing out four hits last year, is set to perform. So is Zayed Khan, “who is popular with youngsters”.

To woo youngsters, the India Cements-backed Chennai Super Kings has also roped in two popular stars Vijay and Nayantara as ambassadors. “The whole concept of the IPL will be successful if people come to the stadium,” says Rakesh Singh, head, marketing, India Cements. “So, we signed up the two most popular stars of youngsters. Vijay is the SRK of the south, if you want a comparison,” he adds.

Though no one’s willing to talk specifics, marketing honchos of IPL said that most of the teams were spending Rs 8-10 crore each on marketing initiatives, including the logo, theme song, brand ambassador, and so forth, to spread the word on the IPL.

But not all teams are opting for the Bollywood treatment. Fraser Castellino, CEO, Emerging Media, which owns the Rajasthan Royals, said the team wasn’t trying to get a celebrity brand ambassador. “We believe that we are here to perform on the cricket field. Our players have enough star power to attract a following and finally performance will get the loyalty,” he said. The Rajasthan Royals are led and coached by Shane Warne.