Mumbai: What happens when India’s most loved sport meets the glitzy world of television? It culminates into pure entertainment! Promising viewers, a unique mélange of cricket, drama and entertainment, MTV India’s No. 1 Youth Brand along with Balaji Telefilms Limited and Marinating Films is all set to air the new exciting season of Box Cricket League starting next week. The star-studded cricket league boasts of 10 teams with celebrity owners – Chennai Swaggers, Mumbai Tigers, Kota Royals, Delhi Dragons, Ahmedabad Express, Goa Killers, Lucknow Nawabs, Jaipur Raj Joshiley, Chandigarh Cubs and Kolkata Babu Moshayes. Bringing over 200 popular television celebrities under one roof, MTV Box Cricket League will commence on 26th February, every Monday to Friday, 8pm to 10pm exclusively on MTV.
Doing away with run-of-the-mill cricket matches, viewers will be privy to a stellar line up of celebrities transforming the meaning of free hit and wide balls for the audience. Leading from front will be the celebrity captains of each team; Mumbai Tigers will be led by the stand-up comedian Balraj Syal, Chennai Swaggers by the Punjabi munda Himanshoo Malhotra, Chandigarh Cubs by the bong beauty Barkha Sengupta, Delhi Dragons by the versatile actor Aadesh Chaudhary, Goa Killers by handsome hunk Rajneesh Dugal, Kolkata Babu Moshayes by the everyone’s favorite Hiten Tejwani, Ahmedabad Express by ever competitive Kunal Pant, Lucknow Nawabs by the theatre and film actress Shruti Ulfat, Jaipur Raj Joshiley by the ace comedian Rajeev Thakur and Kota Royals by the model turned actor Tanuj Virwani ensuring that there is right amalgamation of entertainment, sports and drama in each match.
Speaking about the third edition of the league, Ekta Kapoor – JMD, Balaji Telefilms Limited, said, “Reality shows and cricket are two genres which never fail to grab audience’s attention and MTV Box Cricket League is fusion of both. Bringing country’s two passions on a platform which is hugely watched by today’s youth is a win-win proposition for us. It’s the third edition of BCL and with this season we are committed to deliver high octane entertainment which will keep audiences glued to their television sets with its unprecedented format, unpredictable twists and over 200 faces of television under one roof.”
Shruti Ulfat, Lucknow Nawab said, “Lucknow Nawab is a team with immense energy, enthusiasm and spirit to play extraordinary cricket. I as a Captain feel honored to take the responsibility for the team. I am proud to have such a bunch of players who are a family now. We all have confidence in ourselves and we are here to win the trophy fo mtv box cricket league 2018. Nawabon ke Nawab…Luckhnow Nawab!”
Goa Killers caption Rajneish Duggal said, “As an avid fan of the game of cricket and regular player of cricket, this came as a pleasant opportunity for me to captain a newly formed team. Our team have indulged in many team sports and played as a team player where I have led the teams and got great results. BCL on MTV would be a lot of entertainment filled with its intense moments. We as a team are in the game to win it and as a new team will definitely put up a great show and try and win.”
“Chennai swaggers is a unified team with an amazing energy, strong enthusiasm and a true sportsman spirit to play extraordinary cricket. I as a Captain feel truly honored to take the responsibility for the team. A captain needs to be a great leader to lead the team in order to unleash each player’s inner potential and push him or her to perform extraordinary on the cricket field” said, Chennai Swagger caption, Himanshoo Malhotra.
Hiten Tejwani, Kolkata Babu Moshayes said, “Box Cricket League is a wonderful format. The ball is different so it becomes more interesting. The best part about the game is that all fellow actors who have been working together can play together, compete against each other with even girls are playing. I have been associated with BCL for the last two years and it has been a wonderful experience.”
Delhi Dragons caption Aadesh Chaudhary said, “Cricket is like religion in India as far as sports is concerned. The youth connects with the sports and so does our fraternity. Cricket mixed with entertainment is quite a cool concept. It has been a pleasurable experience and the drama afterwards was as interesting as the sports.”
Kota Royals is a new franchise and the fact that the owners have been kind enough to put me in charge of shepherding and setting up a team is an absolute honor. Often, when one is inducted into an already existing franchise, it becomes difficult to change the mindset of players, as a certain rigidity tends to kick in. Over here at Kota, that was not the case and I feel even though results may not have gone our way this season, we have stuck through as a team. That sense of unity, positivity and team spirit remains untarnished and I believe that is what will lift this team to greater heights in the coming seasons” said, Kota Royals caption Tanuj Virwani.
Mumbai Tigers caption Bajral sayal said, “I have been part of BCL since season one and the best part of this event is it helps us meet all our friends from the industry under one roof. I m a cricket lover and like every Indian like playing cricket since my childhood but cricket has never been so much entertaining. We play, we fight, we win, we lose but in the end, we remain friends. Our life as actors is full of hectic schedules but these couple of weeks of cricketainment helps us relieve that stress. It gives us a break from our regular work.”
Kunal Pant, Ahmedabad Exress caption said, “In one line Ahmedabad Express is the coolest team in their heads and the meanest team on the field. That is how we played our cricket in MTVBCL. I came into this team as a team member and suddenly was asked to lead the team. It is an honor for me to lead the team of super talented actor cricketers who were ready to give everything for the game. My team owners and team members showed tremendous faith in me and I am so happy and thankful for that to all of them. We had just one motto to have fun and play as a team. We bonded really well in no time and are a family now, backing each other up every time whether we lost or won.”
”Chandigarh Cubs is the coolest team of BCL. We believe in healthy competition. We believe in having fun. I am proud and happy to be the captain of a team that is so respectful of women, they treat the women as one of the boys and that is the attitude with which we play. I love our team spirit. We are dedicated and we play as a team. Chandigarh Cubs is a family of diverse yet like-minded people. We are go-getters…we are the Chandigarh Cubs 🙂 lets roar!!” said Barkha Bisht Sengupta, Chandigarh Cubs caption.
Rajiv Thakur, Jaipur Raj Joshiley said, “It has been an absolute pleasure to be leading team Jaipur Raj Joshiley third time in a row. It is a huge responsibility to build and maintain a team especially with your busy schedules. However, the entertaining and interesting format of the game makes it a fun activity amidst the mundane shoot life.”
The one of its kind sports reality show gives viewers an opportunity to enjoy both cricket and the drama of a reality series in one show. With over 200 celebrities and 10 teams vying for victory, the new season of Box Cricket League will see friends turn foes and foes become friends as the celebrities will battle it out for the trophy.
