Chandigarh, March 7, 2008: Bollywood sensation Neha Dhupia shall be performing at the inauguration of the Indian Cricket League Tournament, Edelweiss 20s Challenge slated to start at the Tau Devi Lal Stadium, Panchkula from March 9, 2008.
In addition to the Bollywood sensation, almost all the famous Zee TV Stars shall descend on Chandigarh during the 1-month span of the matches. These include the famous Saloni from Saat Phere, Bani from Kasamh Se, Vidya and Sagar from Dulhann, the three `Bahus’ from Teen Bahuraaniyan and the star cast of the recently launched programmes like Naagin etc.
Further, to make the atmosphere more charged up at the venue, there will be 8 team mascots. Cheer Leaders have also been roped in to charge the spectators in cheering for their favourite teams. In addition, bhangra and giddha would be the main dances with famous folk dancers of the region invited to share centre-stage.
To make the events more memorable, ICL has roped in tattoo artists and hair braiders. Major food items from all over the country would also be star attractions. ICL has roped in renowned designers ‘Shantanu and Nikhil’ to design the team uniforms Ahmedabad Rockets and Lahore Badshahs. The cricket gears for the earlier 6 teams (Chennai Superstars, Kolkata Tigers, Delhi Giants, Mumbai Champs, Hyderabad Heroes and Chandigarh Lions) have been designed by Manish Arora.
Starting March 9th to April 7th, the tournament promises 30-days of non-stop pulsating cricket which will be held in three locations – Hyderabad, Chandigarh (Panchkula) and Gurgaon. Two new teams – Ahmedabad Rockets and Lahore Badshahs have also been added to the existing six teams, making the tournament more comprehensive and competitive. With international cricketers of high stature being added to the league, the quality of cricket is expected to be on par with international standards. All cricket loving fans can watch the high-octane Edelweiss 20s Challenge on Ten Sports & Zee Sports. With a match every evening and double headers on specific week-ends, the tournament will have in total 34 matches. Each team will play against each other once in the league format, followed by semi-finals, third position classification match concluding with the best of three match finals.