da 888casino: Bollywood superstars Kareena Kapoor and Aamir Khan are likely to beassociated with teams in the informal Indian Cricket League
Siddhartha Vaidyanathan11-Mar-2008
Kareena Kapoor could be used as the team ambassador of an ICL side © ICL
Bollywood superstars Kareena Kapoor and Aamir Khan are likely to beassociated with teams in the unofficial Indian Cricket League, Cricinfo haslearnt. However, unlike the Indian Premier League, the ICL has ruled outhanded over ownership to the superstars.”Ever since our inaugural tournament we have seen some interest fromBollywood personalities and we are at an advanced stage of discussionswith a few of them,” Ashish Kaul, the executive vice-president of Essel Group, told Cricinfo.”This may involve owning a part of the stake, it may have to do withlong-term associations, or long-term sponsorships, tie-ups.”However, Kaul confirmed that the ICL were not changing their model andwould not hand over entire ownership to individuals. “Our cricket is notfor sale,” he said, “and we are not going to function with auctions.”Khan and Kapoor, it is learnt, are leading contenders to have long-termassociations with teams. Both may be marketed as the face of the team andused as ambassadors in sponsorships.Kapoor had performed at the opening ceremony of the inaugural edition of the ICL in Panchkula. The latest instalment of the ICL kicked off on March 9, with two new teams – increasing the total to eight – and is to be held at three venues, Panchkula, Hyderabad and Gurgaon, instead of one.