The association of the Khans to cricket dates back to many years.
Sohail Khan talks about growing up in Bandra and playing cricket in the street. He also says that putting together Mumbai Heroes for CCL was no cakewalk.
The first match of the tenth season of the Celebrity Cricket League (CCL) kick-started in Sharjah yesterday (February 23) between Mumbai Heroes and Kerala Strikers. Salman Khan, the brand ambassador for Mumbai Heroes, flagged off this season. In fact, the association of the Khans with cricket go back a long way. Salim Khan played the sport as part of the Madhya Pradesh team back in the day. Arbaaz Khan harboured the dream of being a cricketer as a child. Sohail Khan, on the other hand, is the owner of Mumbai Heroes.
In an exclusive chat with News18 Showsha at a promotional event of CCL 10, Sohail shared how cricket was an inseparable part of his growing-up years. “My father is a cricket fanatic. He played for the MP team that was captained by my chacha. My father played Ranji too. So, we all gravitated towards cricket. I also used to play football. Our parents always encouraged us to go down and play physical sports. It could be football or cricket,” he reminisced.
Walking down the memory lane, he added, “We, Bandra boys, played on the street all our lives and had great fun. We cycled together too. The childhood we had that abounded in street sports was a culture that doesn’t exist anymore. We used to get hurt too and then we would come back and our mother would give us Dettol chatkas (laughs).”
And that’s why the Hello and Tubelight actor doesn’t leave any stone unturned to nudge and encourage his sons to play outdoor sports. “Nirvaan plays cricket and football. He’s back from LA and will probably assist someone and get his career started first. If he wants to be a part of the team at CCL, he needs to be a celebrity first! I would like him to get his act right first and take his father’s position and be a part of CCL,” he said.
Sohail formed Mumbai Heroes back in 2011 which also marked the year when CCL began. The team is currently co-owned by Jordy Patel and Adil Jagmagia and mentored by Suniel Shetty with Riteish Deshmukh leading as the captain. Other players include Saqib Salim, Aftab Shivdasani, Sharad Kelkar, Jay Bhanushali, Vatsal Sheth and Freddy Daruwala, among many others.
However, it was no cakewalk forming the team. “It was a task. I think half the people who play and enjoy cricket take not playing the game as a responsibility. I remember going to an actor who we know plays the sport and we thought that he would immediately tell us a yes. But he said, ‘My primary profession is acting and if I do get hurt, I would be jeopardising my bread and better’,” he told us.
He continued, “And this is exactly what happened during the first season. Sonu Sood had twisted his leg and he was shooting for three-four films, which had to be delayed. I also remember that a producer had called me up and asked why I injured his actor (laughs). That also made us realise that we need to be very careful while playing.”
