Surat: The legendary Sachin Tendulkar on Friday termed the Indian Street Premier League (ISPL) a "great platform for players to showcase their talent" and said he got associated with the tournament because it was a superb initiative to give opportunities to young cricketers from across the country.
ISPL returned for its third season on Friday with eight celebrity-owned teams slugging it out for a Rs 5.92 crore prize pool in the month-long tennis-ball T10 cricket tournament.
The tournament is set to run till February 6 with franchise teams competing across 44 matches.
Sachin Tendulkar's Statement
"ISPL is a great platform for players to showcase their talent. I believe a player needs such support and a platform to be able to showcase to the world what they are made of," said the cricketing great, who is the ISPL Core Committee member.
"The reason for me to be association with ISPL is that it has given opportunities for so many players across the country. We all need targets in life so that we can chase them and start waking up for a reason every day. So, the ISPL is enough to be a reason for that...and be as passionate as possible for the game and continue to be in love with the sport," he added.
The season opened with the match between defending champions Majhi Mumbai and Srinagar Ke Veer.
"If you talk about the talent here, we have had some exceptional performances. Players like Abhishek and Irfan have proven that one is part of Mumbai's Ranji team, and the other has been called up for trials (by) Kolkata Knight Riders.
"It is a big step in their lives; this is something other players have been taking notice of...and you need examples, heroes to follow in their footsteps. I would say that among these players, they both have gotten this opportunity.
"Others are knocking on the doors; sometimes, you just need to be patient and persistent to be able to get that result. I hope that their passion and love for the game will allow them to knock on the door harder, and it will open the gates for them, and opportunities will be created as long as they are disciplined and dedicated," he added.
Eight teams -- Majhi Mumbai (co-owned by Amitabh Bachchan), Tiigers of Kolkata (Sourav Ganguly, Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan), Srinagar Ke Veer (Akshay Kumar), Chennai Singams (Suriya), Bengaluru Strikers (Hrithik Roshan) and Falcon Risers Hyderabad (Ram Charan), alongside new entrants Delhi Superheros (Salman Khan) and Ahmedabad Lions (Ajay Devgn) -- make up the tournament.
"If the players go and showcase their talent, the others take notice. For any athlete, appreciation and encouragement are the best tonic they can have which this tournament provides. Once there are eyeballs, people do take notice of that which, opens doors for many opportunities ahead," he said.
He said tournaments like ISPL also encourage a sporting culture in the country.
"The thought behind my association with ISPL is that we are encouraging sport in India. Sport should be encouraged in India, whichever sport it may be.
"We are a sports-loving nation, and now we have to become a sports-playing nation. These are the steps where youngsters are watching, aspiring to be a part of the ISPL, which is a good sign.
"That is exactly what I thought and, for me, it was a no-brainer to be a part of this league. Together, we can create this movement of a sports-playing nation, and this was the idea behind it," he concluded.
Immense cricketing talent in country: Shelar
ISPL Core Committee member Ashish Shelar said the tournament had provided a great ecosystem for street cricketers to showcase their talent.
"India has immense cricketing talent, and people are constantly looking for opportunities to showcase it. Street cricketers need an ecosystem that gives them recognition and helps create a strong talent pool. Such a platform not only recognises their talent but also enables them to showcase it to the world," said Shelar at the opening ceremony of the ISPL.
ISPL League Commissioner Suraj Samat complimented the celebrities for getting associated with the tournament.
"We set the tone for the season right from the day the auction ended. From Salman Khan to all the other owners, everyone came in, and now Sourav Ganguly is also a part of our family.
"What more can I say? We have the God of cricket (Tendulkar) with us...a former captain of the Indian national team with us. We couldn'' have asked for anything more. A lot of people have come here to watch, and I am truly overwhelmed to see this kind of support," said Samat.
(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
