ispl: Saif Ali Khan opens up on his love for cricket and 'City of Joy' Kolkata

Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan. Pic/Instagram

Actor Saif Ali Khan, who is also the co-owner of Tigers of Kolkata along with his wife Kareena Kapoor Khan - a team in Indian Street Premier League (ISPL) shared why he is so close to the game of cricket and 'City of Joy' Kolkata.

During a press conference in Mumbai, Saif Ali Khan said, "I am excited. It's a superb way to build technique from the ground up. When we used to field also, we were told, and my father used to say, that if you learn how to catch with a tennis ball, it's the proper way, because otherwise, the ball will bounce out of your hand unless you learn how to catch properly."

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"So everybody starts with tennis ball cricket. The idea is, in such a massive country with such a large population, to allow discovery by getting down onto the street level and giving people a platform and a talent to play cricket like this. I think it's a great thing."

He added, "Calcutta is a city that's very close to my heart. My mother and half of my family are from Calcutta. And the other half is, you know, are cricketers. So I think I'm a good brand ambassador for this team. I'm very keen to get going on the 6th of March. We play our first match and we're going to be there to support and watch." Saif was super excited to be here as a co-owner of the Tigers from Calcutta, and said that cricket and entertainment have always been connected.

"It's becoming more and more so as time goes by. We will discover some exciting new talent and give people a platform, and it will be a wonderful thing for cricket in general also, to give people a platform to start discovering people on a very basic street level and hopefully elevate them and bring them into the public kind of spotlight."

"Tennis ball cricket is a very exciting sport. If you put tape on the side of a ball, it starts swinging as though you're facing Wasim Akram. If you want to learn how to play cricket, you have to start with a tennis ball, learning how to catch so it doesn't bounce out of your hands." Notably, the Indian Street Premier League (ISPL), India's pioneering tennis ball T10 cricket tournament to be played inside a stadium, in January announced Bollywood Star couple, Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan as owners of the Kolkata team.

Scheduled to kick off from March 6 to March 15, 2024, in Mumbai, the inaugural edition of ISPL promises an enthralling display of cricketing brilliance, featuring six competitive teams - Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, and Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir).

The ISPL aims to be a revolution in sports entertainment. Beyond the thrilling on-field action, the league will host a vibrant musical festival, showcasing artists from every corner of the country. Expect live performances, mesmerizing drone shows, breathtaking laser displays, and the sensational DJ Chetas spinning the latest beats, ensuring a harmonious blend of cricket prowess and entertainment extravaganza.

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