The Kerala Cricket League was promoted by the Kerala Cricket Association, promising to create a sea change in the cricketing scenario within the state. The league had already received critical acclaim from Malayalam film icon Mohanlal, who hailed the efforts of Kerala’s women cricketers while predicting a strong presence of Malayali players in the national cricket team in the future.
At the KCL launch, Mohanlal had said with pride that from now on, Malayali cricketers would be part of the Indian national team. That does sound confident with growing talent from Kerala and more players from the region representing the highest level of cricket.
He proudly said to the audience, “From now on, there will be continuous presence of Malayali cricketers in the Indian national team.”
Mohanlal said that the Kerala Cricket League was actually one of the major reasons to bring forward local talent and improve the cricketing prospects of the State. He pointed out that cricket, just like football, is an emotion for the people in Kerala, binding fans across the state in unison.
Mohanlal remembered his young days playing cricket with ‘Ola Panthu’ (coconut leaf balls) and wooden sticks. He said the sport has evolved over time in Kerala and now children start their journey with signed bats from cricket stars like MS Dhoni, former skipper of the Indian men’s team, Malayali-born Sanju Samson with coaches who are the best in business.
During the event, Mohanlal also congratulated the women cricketers of Kerala, a few of whom are Minnu Mani, who recently led India A on a tour to Australia, and Asha Sobhana and Sajeevan Sajana who made their debuts for the Indian national team this year during the India tour of Bangladesh. While both Asha and Sajeevan have been selected for their maiden T20 World Cup to be held in the UAE later this year, Minu awaits a call-up. India will take part in Group A alongside Australia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and New Zealand at the World Cup.
The veteran actor also praised the Kerala Cricket Association and the district associations for their top-class training provided with good facilities, which helped the state to achieve immense progress in Indian cricket. He attributed the success of Kerala to well-maintained grounds and the relentless service of highly qualified coaches.
The versatile actor further went on praising the Kerala Cricket Association by stating that he is confident its effort to foster and promote cricket in the State would continue. More importantly, Kerala Sports Minister V. Abdurahiman announced that the state government has invested more than Rs 2,000 crores in the sports sector and expects a ten-fold growth in investments in the years to come. “The state was strengthening its sports infrastructure to increase its share in the Kerala economy from 3 percent to 5 percent,” the minister added.
The occasion also saw the release of a special song composed for the Kerala Cricket League. KCA President Jayesh George and KCA Secretary Vinod S. Kumar addressed the occasion. The guests present were KCL Chairman Nazzir Machan, Goodwill Ambassador for women’s cricket Keerthy Suresh, franchise owners, and team members.
(Quotes sourced from mathrubhumi.com)