Superstar Mohanlal inaugurates Kerala Cricket League, stirring nostalgic memories

By K.R. Nayar
from Kerala 

Kerala Cricket Association’s (KCA) franchise model Premier League commenced on September 2 (Monday) at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram. Malayalam film superstar Mohanlal inaugurated this event, titled The Kerala Cricket League. Personally, this is a proud moment for me, having held various positions in this cricket association, including serving as the joint secretary of the Trivandrum Cricket Association during the days when KCA was striving to promote cricket in the state. Hosting an event modelled in line with the Indian Premier League is indeed commendable.

 

Mohanlal with Trivandrum Royals co-owner Priyadarshan, KCA women’s cricket goodwill ambassador Keerthy Suresh, and sports minister V Abdurahiman at the launch of the Kerala Cricket League

This tournament evokes nostalgia not just for me but for many others who played cricket in this state. During my school and college days, I played with Mohanlal, the brand ambassador of this event, and with renowned director Priyadarshan, co-owner of the Trivandrum Royals team.  Additionally, this event is significant for me due to the participation of the UAE. Some of the ardent lovers of the game from the UAE, where I live and work now, are supporting the event as team owners.

 

Mohanlal launches the Kerala Cricket League with sports minister V Abdurahiman, as Sohan Roy, owner of Kollam Sailors and Kaladharan, owner of Alleppey Ripples and Priyadarshan look on. 

T.S. Kaladharan, Founder and Chairman of Consolidated Shipping Services, who backed the CSS team—one of the most successful squads in the UAE’s domestic cricket—is the owner of Alleppey Ripples. It was commendable that Alleppey invited Mazhar Khan, General Manager of Sharjah Cricket, to attend their inaugural match on the opening day. Kaladharan has extended the careers of many Non Resident Indians by picking them for the CSS team and ensuring they get to play international cricket by representing the UAE.

 

Mazhar Khan, General Manager, Sharjah Cricket (left) with T.S. Kaladharan, owner of Alleppey Ripples team on the opening day of the Kerala Cricket League 

Sohan Roy, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Aries Group, and a renowned film producer based in the UAE, owns Kollam Sailors. Roy, who played for SN College, Punalur, during his college days, commented on his decision to become a team owner, saying that cricket and career success are closely linked. “Cricket teaches one to chase targets and highlights the importance of planning, discipline, and fitness,” he added.

 

Sohan Roy, owner of Kollam Sailors

This event also reminded me of Mohanlal and Priyadarshan’s cricketing days. Priyadarshan, who was a regular on the cricket field, was once hit by a cricket ball on his eye, which nearly blinded him. It was a bouncer from Haneefa, one of the fastest bowlers at the time from Alleppey, that caused the injury. Interestingly, Priyadarshan invited Haneefa and his family to the inaugural day of this tournament. Haneefa is wheelchair bound but runs a restaurant in Alleppey.

 

Former Kerala alllrounder S. Santosh with Haneefa on the opening day of the Kerala Cricket League. It was Haneefa’s bouncer that hit Priyadarshan’s eye during a league match.

Many former Kerala Ranji Trophy players now live in the UAE. Allrounder S. Santosh watched the inaugural match with his brother and former Kerala Ranji Trophy team captain S. Ramesh. In his playing days, Ramesh was popular as ‘Pataudi Ramesh’ due to his resemblance to the legendary Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi. Ramesh was the superstar of cricket back then, and was admired by Mohanlal and Priyadarshan for his cricketing skills.

 

S. Ramesh (left) with S. Santosh on  the opening day of the Kerala Cricket League. 

It was also great to see Kerala’s first international umpire, Jose Kurushingal, conduct a workshop for the KCL umpires. Jose was also my colleague when I was a state panel umpire. ICC panel umpire K.N. Ananthapadmanabhan, with whom I have played club-level cricket, has also been guiding the KCL umpires.  

 

Kerala’s first international umpire Jose Kurushingal conducts a workshop for KCL Umpires. Also seen is ICC panel umpire K.N. Ananthapadmanabhan

Announcing the excitement in store for the coming days, the first ball of the tournament produced a wicket. Fazil Fanoos of Alleppey Ripples got Thrissur Titans’ opener Abhishek Pratap slash into the hands of Anand Joseph. Mohammad Azharuddeen, the Alleppey skipper, cracked a brilliant 92 off 47 balls with three boundaries and nine sixes to ensure his team’s five-wicket win. This batsman was named after former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin by his elder brother.

 

The sensational opening delivery of the tournament 

Incidentally, the second match of the opening day was won by Trivandrum Royals by one run over Kochi Blue Tigers through the use of VJD Method owing to rain. V Jayadevan, a civil engineer from Thrissur had created this method for rain curtailed matches, similar to Duckworth Lewis method. Kochi posted 122 in 19.5 overs and Trivandrum scored 83 for 5.

Mohanlal at the inauguration of the league with Nazir Machan, Chairman of the Governing Council, Jayesh George, KCA President and Vinod S. Kumar. (Secretary – KCA) and the Convenor of the governing council

A total of 33 matches will be held, with the final scheduled for September 18. Two matches will be held each day, the first at 3 pm and the second at 7 pm. All players have been selected through an auction. Since Star Sports is the tournament’s official broadcaster and Fancode,  the digital streaming partner, these matches can be watched live on Star Sports 1 and streamed through Fancode.

 

Mohanlal is presented a memento by Vinod S. Kumar (Secretary – KCA) and the Convenor of the governing council and sports minister V Abdurahiman

This event is steered by Vinod S. Kumar (Secretary , KCA) and the Convenor of the governing council. Other members include K.M. Abdul Rahiman (Treasurer – KCA), P.J. Navaz (Member – KCA), Thomas Mathew (ICA representative), K. Mohammed Danish (CAG representative), and Minu Chithambaram (CEO and CFO – KCA). Nazir Machan is the Chairman of the Governing Council, and Jayesh George, former BCCI Joint Secretary, is the President of KCA.

 

Jayesh George, President KCA addresses the media with members of the Kerala Cricket League Governing council 

Mohanlal had launched this tournament last month in the presence of Sports Minister V. Abdurahiman and Kerala women’s cricket goodwill ambassador, actress Keerthy Suresh. Keerthy’s father, renowned film producer Suresh, who has keenly followed cricket with Mohanlal and Priyadarshan from their school days, is also the brother-in-law of Chandrasenan, former Vice President of the Trivandrum District Cricket Association.

 

Mohanlal with the captains of the Kerala Cricket League 

Other team owners include Sajjad Sait of Finesse Market Link Private Limited, who backs the Thrissur Titans; Enigmatic Smile Rewards is the owner of Kochi Blue Tigers; and EKK Infrastructure Limited backs own Calicut Globstars. The co-owner of Trivandrum Royals along with Priyadarshan is Jose Thomas Pattara.

 

The iconic players of the teams are: Mohammad Azharuddeen (Alleppey Ripples), Rohan S. Kunnummal (Calicut Globstars), Basil Thampi (Kochi Blue Tigers), Sachin Baby (Kollam Sailors), Vishnu Vinod (Thrissur Titans), and Abdul Basith (Trivandrum Royals). Indian Test star Sanju Samson is the tournament icon.

While this tournament is sure to unearth many talented cricketers and set a new standard in Indian cricket, it has already created a wave of nostalgia for Mohanlal, Priyadarshan, and many former Kerala cricketers who attended the inauguration.