Outram Club was lit up on November 26 and 27 with floodlights, as over 50 entertainers came together to battle it out on the cricket pitch at Entertainer’s Cricket League (ECL), 2022. The inaugural edition featured two teams of actors, two of musicians, an RJ team, and one team from Machino Techno Sales Ltd. “Six months ago, a random chat among friends yielded the idea of a cricket tournament for people from the entertainment industry, with unique rules. Syncing everyone’s schedules took a lot of planning, but we finally did it,” said Pratyush Dasgupta, chief organiser, ECL. My Kolkata was the digital partner
All images: Soumyajit Dey
Team Blue emerged as winners after a hard-fought tournament. (Right) Gourab Sarkar got the team into a huddle and led from the front as the captain. “Back in the lockdown, (we) musicians got together to form a team, Geet Gobindoz, and for this tournament, we split it into two to create both Team Red and Blue. Though we all come from different professions and the tournament was for fun, everyone put their backgrounds aside and played like professionals. It was very competitive,” he said
Diya Chakrabarti from Team Green was crowned the ‘Best Female Player’ for her performance with both the bat and ball. The incorporation of female players in the team was particularly interesting, as every match started with an over bowled by a woman to a woman. “While I have always been an avid cricket fan, I never got the chance to play in a setting like ECL. It was a blast to play with and against such supportive people, and this trophy was the best part of the tournament for me.”
The trophies kept coming for Team Blue, as Mohul Chakraborty picked up the award for being the ‘Highest Wicket-taker’. “While I am a singer-songwriter, bowling is my passion, making this achievement much sweeter. It was thoroughly a team effort, and I am really thankful to our captain, Gourab for trusting me,” said Chakraborty, who scalped 8 wickets
The innovative rules made batting huge fun for (left) Rajiv Bose and (right) Kaushik Chakraborty, with elements like sprinting for add-on runs after smacking a boundary, and a shorter crease for the non-striker. Moreover, every pair of batsmen got two overs on the crease before a new pair took over, as a wicket led to a deduction of three runs. “I have played cricket at the zonal and university level, but this tournament was unique, especially the way the rules were tweaked,” said Bose. Chakraborty added, “As the captain of the Yellow Team, it was an immense responsibility to lead the side, but also a privilege given that my team had such talented young actors. The tweaked rules made the games more electrifying!”
(Left) Sonal Jindal, managing director of Machino Techno Sales Ltd., spearheaded Team Orange, comprising employees from the company. “The last 10 days, it was good fun as we prepped for the tournament and now I feel we can play anytime, anywhere. It has truly been a privilege to sponsor this event and showcase our Grand Vitara here,” she said
Green Team bagged the runner-up prize after blazing through the group stage. “The way the team has performed has motivated us to do better next time. This was truly a wonderful experience, and we dearly hope to see Entertainer’s Cricket League scale bigger heights in the coming years,” team captain Amitabh Bhattacharjee said
“This was the first time a tournament of this kind happened in Kolkata, and it was a matter of immense joy for us especially to be the first club to organise it. The first edition of ECL has been a successful one, and I look forward to it being even better next year,” said Sudipto Bose, honorary secretary and past president, Outram Club
