I am passionate about cricket: Priyadarshan on KCAPL

Thiruvananthapuram : With just four days left for the auction of the players in Kerala Cricket Association Premier League (KCAPL), ace director Priyadarshan, who has successfully bid for a team along with a few others, said that he is excited to be part of the tournament as he is passionate about the game.

“I am attached to the game because of my passion. My principal vocation is films and I have very little time outside of films but it was national award-winning actor Keerthy Suresh who suggested to co-own a team,” the ace director told IANS.

He said that since cricket is his passion that is why he agreed to Keerthy Suresh’s suggestions.

“I told her that I don’t have much time but I positively will join the auction function on August 10,” said the veteran director.

Priyadarshan is based in Chennai and is set to work with the Bollywood star Akshay Kumar for his next project.

Kerala Cricket Association Premier League (KCAPL) is a T20 format tournament in which six franchise teams will play a total of 33 matches with two matches scheduled daily at 3 pm and 7 pm at Greenfield Stadium located in the Kariavattom neighbourhood of Thiruvananthapuram city.

Nazir Machan is the Chairman of the Governing Council which oversees the entire franchise.

KCAPL Secretary and Convenor of the Governing Council, Vinod S Kumar, said that all the preparations have been put in place for the auction to take place on August 10.

“A total of 167 players have registered with the KCAPL. Each team can have a minimum of 18 players and not more than 20. All the players have to be registered with the KCA and none from outside is allowed. This rule was set up by the BCCI,” Kumar said.

He said that one franchise can spend Rs 35 lakhs for one team for buying the players and each team can have one icon player, whose remuneration will be plus 10 per cent of the highest bid player in the team.

P. Balachandran, former Kerala captain and coach of the state team is the coach for the team owned by Priyadarshan.

Balachandran told IANS that the former state team member Sony Cheruvathoor is the team’s bowling coach and S. Manoj is the batting coach.

“This franchise cricket is going to boost the interest of all cricket buffs as players and aspiring players are getting a new canvas to exhibit their talent. All of us are excited,” said Balachandran.

KCA is holding the tournament in association with TCM Global Media while Star Sports is the tournament’s official broadcaster and Fancode is the digital streaming partner.