Arya to lead Chennai Rhinos in the latest edition of CCL — Celebrity Cricket League

Addressing a press conference in Chennai, actor Jiiva said: “We are playing after four years. We have started training for the tournament and we have a really good side this time around.”

The latest edition of Celebrity Cricket League to kickstart from February 18, 2023. (Pic – twitter)

Notably, two of Chennai Rhinos’s star players — Vikranth and Vishnu Vishal — are back with the team for this edition of the CCL.

Chennai, who were the title winners in the first two editions of the CCL, had lost a bit of their sheen during the later editions.

When asked if the team was ready to take on strong teams like Bhojpuri Dabanggs, who have been going from strength to strength with each passing CCL, or Mumbai, who were the title winners in the last edition, or arch rivals Karnataka Bulldozers, Jiiva expressed optimism and said, “Every team, after a gap of four years, has upgraded itself and returned. All of the competing teams are strong. We too have a really good side. You can expect us to play some smart cricket.”

The matches would be played over a period of five weekends.

India’s Biggest Sportainment Event Celebrity Cricket League (CCL) with 8 teams from across 8 languages starts on 18th February.

Live on 9 Channels.#A23 #ParleHappyHappy#CCL2023#CCLStarting18thFeb pic.twitter.com/Vt6s7h2dTt

— Kichcha Sudeepa (@KicchaSudeep) February 11, 2023

A new form of T20 in CCL

When asked why there were no matches scheduled in Chennai, the team clarified that given the India-Australia series that is currently on, the ground at Chepauk was not available for CCL matches.

One other significant factor about this edition of the CCL is that it will have a new T20 format.

Chennai Rhinos player Jiiva. (Twitter)

Explaining how the matches will be played, Jiiva said, “This will be a T-20 game, but it will be in the Test match format, which is to say each side will get to play two innings of 10 overs each. What’s more, to ensure that all players get an opportunity to bat, the first three players who open in the first innings can’t be the first three players in the next innings.”

Also, Jiiva disclosed that the matches will not have bouncers and that any bouncer bowled will be considered a no-ball in the format.

The CCL teams

The other teams that will be participating in this edition of the CCL apart from Chennai Rhinos are:

Mumbai Heroes with Salman Khan as its brand ambassador and Ritesh Deshmukh as its captain; Telugu Warriors with Venkatesh as its co-owner and Akhil as its captain; Bhojpuri Dabanggs with Manoj Tiwari as its captain; Kerala Strikers with Mohanlal as co-owner and Kunchacko Boban as its captain; Bengal Tigers with Boney Kapoor as owner and Jissusen Gupta as its captain; Karnataka Bulldozers with Sudeep as its captain; and Punjab De Sher with Sonu Sood as its captain.

With over 120 film celebrities involved in the league, this season is expected to generate huge excitement. The matches will be broadcast on the ZEE TV network.