the star studded DLF Indian Premier League has finally arrived and is drawing the highest TRPs in all types of media officially.

since the matches are 3 hours each like a movie show or maybe comparable to a football game, lot of non cricket-lovers are drawn to them too… women especially. 

so far people got to see, shahrukh’s Kolkata Knight Riders, vijay mallya’s Royal Challengers Bangalore, mukesh ambani’s Mumbai Indians, chettinad cement’s Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Dare Devils, preity zinta’s Punjab Kings Mohali team, Deccan Chargers. some team owners who are not celebrities have hired brand ambassadors like katrina kaif for bangalore royal challengers n akshaye kumar for delhi dare devils n actor vijay for chennai … 

kolkata team is a clear winner in terms of rage n the winning attitude. deccan ’s andrew symonds too couldn do anything to them.delhi is really mediocre, as is mohali n rajasthan.mumbai team is exceptionally bad. for more visit official website 

it all boils down to selection, and selecting good people who are also reliably in good form at that like mr. ponting. i fail to understand what mukesh ambani wanted to do, he has put least time n effort into any team activity – no team bonding, no ads, the team feels like they are left out high n dry, no brand ambassador on field, looked like he was shaking hands with them face to face on the ground for the first time, and the whole point of this exercise – reliance branding – is missing!!!! whoaa, i mean why??? what for ??? you cold have as well made way for other star hopefuls in mumbai – big B, small B, newbie (new mrs B), thackeray household…. there were many to oblige yaa :)

look at other busy people who really spent time with their teams and it shows.

shahrukh, all  ridiculed for his excessive bollywood footage has taken his team exercise very seriously and it really shows, besides of course picking up the right people in the team which does matter a lot…. 

the irony of the whole situation is, the media has created a lot of regionally oriented hype through ads, team endorsements, specially created numbers etc… however, the teams consist of  only one regional player of the particular region and a bhelpuri of everyone else all over north/south/east/west of india , pakistan , new zealand , australia , south africa et al. some celebrities like katrina kaif is not a kannadiga, but endorsing them etc etc. 

whatever the details, it sure is fun to watch, and is more lively with new n fresh faces for the “extraaa” innings and new ways of presentation.

we are planning to visit deccan chargers vs. mumbai indians on wednesday here in chennai, probably hubby will visit Mumbai for the finals!

hubby, as a brand manager for his company is involved in sponsorhip for the series and has got VIP passes, n proudly wears the badge which says – access everywhere except dressing room