Uniworld City began the 11th edition of its gala cricket tournament — Uniworld Premiere League, being held in association with The Telegraph Salt Lake — last Friday. The opening ceremony of the UPL was a heady mix of music, fashion, dance, fireworks, pep talk and a whole lot of excitement.
There are 38 teams taking part in the UPL this season and over the next 24 days, 96 matches will be played in categories divided into 20 men’s teams, three women’s teams, four junior and six sub-junior (11-15 years) teams. There will be two teams of super seniors, aged above 55 years, as well as three teams of toddlers, in the 6-10 years age group.
Many of these players went up on stage as the teams of the youngsters were introduced. In his second year of playing UPL, Ayansh Singh, 8, came sporting an Australia jersey. “This was bought from the Dharamtala market. I wrote the name of (Mitchell) Starc myself on the back with sketch pen,” said the fan of the Aussie speedster, who claimed to be able to bowl both pace and spin. He was aware that his team, Dada Dynamos, was named after Sourav Ganguly. “My mother showed me a match of his on YouTube on her phone.”
Hetansh Agarwal, 5, came dressed as Virat Kohli in a fashion show on sports icons, which also saw children dress up as Sania Mirza, M.S. Dhoni and Rohit Sharma. “Currently, I am giving him batting practice and arranging play dates for him,” said his mother, Rajni.
A Uniworld band performed the theme song live, and there was a display by karetekas too, some of whom would be wielding a bat after the nunchaku. “I like both karate and cricket and will be playing for Team Wall Breakers,” said eight-year-old Shivay Sarkar, dressed in the white martial art uniform.
The organisers, led by Manish Upadhyay, president of Uniworld Sports Association, felicitated special guests such as commissioner of Chandernagore Police Amit Javalgi. Formerly a resident of Uniworld for six years, Javalgi said his best memories of living here revolved around the UPL. “We’d play in winter but discuss it round the year. I forged many friendships here through the tournament, too,” he said. “My request is for parents to take their kids to the fields because it is through sports that they learn teamwork, leadership, and respect for rules.”
Bengal Ranji Trophy player Ishan Porel was felicitated at the event. “It’s great to see so many children here, and I urge parents to take them to playgrounds,” said Ishan, who was thronged by selfie and autograph seekers as soon as he descended from the stage. Malay Trivedi of Class I couldn’t find paper for the autograph, so Ishan gladly signed his jersey instead. “My son is so young he isn’t sure who Ishan is, but I’ve told him he’s a cricketer, and the child is feeling charged up before taking the field later on,” said his mother.
Bengal Ranji player Ishan Porel at Uniworld City Uniworld Premiere
A whole lot of stalls — from those selling food to showcasing cars — have come up too, giving the event a carnival-like ambience.
The maiden game took tournament took place after the opening ceremony itself — Amigoes vs MSD — and the finals will take place on February 1.
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