From Siddharth Basrur lending his voice to the theme song of IPl sung in five languages, to comedian Sunil Grover and Shilpa Shinde teaming up for an online spoof show, and new anchors for a pre-match talk show, the 11th edition of promises excitement. SANGEETA YADAV tells you more
It is a fight between the Best versus the Best. The theme song sung by Siddharth Basrur perfectly puts it out as Yeh khel hai veer jawano ka, shows how IPl is, indeed, a game of champions. The 11th edition of IPl kick-starts its second innings with Star India coming on board to broadcast the matches live in six languages, targeting a 700 million fan reach across 10 Star sports channels and live streaming online through Hotstar.
Having shifted from Sony Entertainment to Star India, the popular show Extraaa Innings on Set Max which was the live pre and post match talk show anchored by Samir Kochhar, Gaurav Kapur, Archana Vijaya and Shibani Dandekar will no more be there. Instead, a new one titled Cricket live come on Star Sports, anchored by TV presenters Jatin Sapru and Mayanti langer.
“To bring out the best of this cricket carnival, an interesting line-up of analysts, reporters and cricketers will be sharing insights on the matches. Over the years, having anchored the Champions Trophy and many other tournaments, we’ve build a strong team and will walk an extra mile to build content for IPl franchise. It isn’t just about the matches but about making a connect with the fans through national-wide campaigns,” langer says.
Anchoring cricket events comes naturally to langer, thanks to her 12-year experience in such fields. “The easiest thing is to get in front of the camera and talk about your favourite sport. We have watched cricket as fans but through anchoring, we are going to get different insights from people on the site and be in the middle of action. I share a great camaraderie with my co-anchor Jatin Sapru and we will put that across on the show as well,” langer says.
With the revamp of the talk show, the challenge lies in making it better from previous years. “It is for the first time that Star takes over IPl telecast. So there might be some pre-conceived notions of how you want things to be. The challenge will be to break that mould. Children who were watching IPl at age 15 will now be 25 and following the franchise for the next 10 years. So we will be able to play on fan relationship and their IPl loyalty,” langer says.
For Sapru, it is to strike a right balance between cricket and entertainment. “The IPl attracts a lot of youngsters and mix bag of audiences. We’ve to make sure that they get their share of entertainment and humour without compromising on the sport. There are great back stories and new players bring new flavour,” Sapru says.
Cheerleaders are the biggest attraction but Sapru likes to see gender neutral team of cheerleaders. “There will be cheerleaders on the field but not in the studio. I would like to see men and women cheerleaders. The idea of cheerleaders comes from abroad where they are hardcore fans of teams. There can be men as well if the IPl Governing Council approves,” Sapru says.
To entertain the audience, comedian Sunil Grover will don the avatar of Professor launda Bhatinda Wala aka lBW and Shilpa Shinde will be Googly in their web show Jio Dhan Dhana Dhan live. Many other comedians like Sugandha Mishra, Ali Asgar, Paresh Ganatra, Suresh Menon and Suyyash Rai will be seen playing multiple characters with guest celebrities like MS Dhoni, Kapil Dev, Virender Sehwag among others.
In the promos, Googly bhabhi is shown as a big cricket fan who eyes the hot cricketers while professor lBW is clueless about the sport. The show can be watched exclusively on Jio application and it will also be telecast on Colors from Sunday at 11 pm.
Apart from the online live streaming of the match, Hotstar has launched a virtual reality game — Watch’N’Play. It is a skill-based game that will have millions of other users tuned into the match providing running commentary on player performance and strategy, into an actual game where they stand to win big. Only Airtel and Reliance Jio network users will be able to watch IPl without subscribing to the Hotstar All Sports Pack or Hotstar Premium.
Star Sports has also launched Select: The Dugout that will provide fans with richer analytical experience through graphic and augmented reality.
Hosting and debating these will be an exclusive and illustrious panel of experts, including former captains, coaches and mentors such as Brad Hogg, David Hussey, Damien Fleming, Scott Styris, Anil Kumble, Dean Jones, Mike Hesson, Mark Waugh, Darren Sammy and others.
To reach out to cricket lovers across India, Fan Parks have been set up with free entry. From Kullu in the north to Tirunelveli in the south to Agartala in the East and Rajkot in the West, each venue will broadcast live IPl action on giant TV screen in fan zones, creating a stadium-like feel for fans.
Those visiting the Fan Park are eligible for a lucky prize which will include exclusive IPl merchandise and the Vivo smart phone.