MUMBAI: In its efforts to raise funds for Tsunami victims, Kapil Dev-headed Hero Indian Sports Academy (HISA) is intiating a cricket match between stars from the sports fraternity and the Indian film industry. SaharaOne Television, Ten Sports, Hungama TV, DD Sports and Sun Group will telecast the match simultaneously. All proceeds from the match shall be donated to the Prime Ministers' Relief Fund.
The match will be held on 28 January under the floodlights at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium from 4 pm onwards. The Kapil XI consisting of Kapil Dev, Romesh Kaluwitharana, Aravinda D'Silva, Charu Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, Roshan Mahanama, Ajit Agarkar, Major Rathore, Narain Karthikeyan, Mohd. Azharuddin, Dilip Vengsarkar, Harsha Bhogle, Javagal Srinath and Pulella Gopichand will take on the Aamir XI featuring Suneil Shetty, Salman Khan, Aftab Shivdasani, Ritesh Deshmukh, Dino Morea, Ajay Jadeja, Mithun Chakravorty, Madhavan, Yuvraj Singh, Parthiv Patel, Laxmipathy Balaji, Arbaaz Khan, Rahul Dev, Rahul Dravid and Shailendra Singh.
"It has been overwhelming to see what the citizens of our country who live near the sea shores of Andaman-Nicobar, Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry have experienced on that fateful day when the Tsunami struck. It is our endeavour to garner support and aid for the Prime Ministers' Relief Fund through organizing this match. It is our responsibility as citizens of India to contribute towards this noble cause. I personally appeal to each and every resident of Mumbai to come forward and help them. I have full support from my fellow cricketers and eminent sports personalities of India who will be coming forward to join me in this benefit match against a team captained by Aamir Khan," said Kapil Dev in an official communique releasd by Sahara One Television.
Offers Percept D' Mark COO Devraj Sanyal, "Cricket is every Indian's lifeblood. And this initiative is to bring together the nation of sports enthusiasts to help the victims of the tsunami tragedy."
Adds SaharaOne Television COO Karuna Samtani, "SaharaOne has always been in the forefront in initiatives that are of national importance. And we want everyone to participate in this match in every way he can, whether it is in watching the game and cheering the players at the stadium or in front of the TV. And make India proud."
Airtel has agreed to adopt the entire initiative and has come forward as title sponsor. This match is now called the Airtel Cup. The event is also supported by Mid-Day, Air Sahara, The Taj Mahal Palace and Tower - Mumbai, Gloveman, Big Tree, Go92.5fm, TopsGrup, Shruti Art and Kayur G Patel among others.
Tickets are available at Wankhede Stadium, Cinemax (Goregaon), Cinemagic (Andheri -- East), Cineplanet (Sion), Cinewonder (Thane), Cineprime (Mira Road), R Adlabs (Mulund), Imax Adlabs (Wadala), Fun Republic (Andheri West), Rhythm House (Kala Ghoda), 24 Karat (Jogeshwari East). Contact Big Tree: 022 26493665.
