Sunil Gavaskar thanks crowd for turning up to watch IBL

Zee Media Bureau/Suyash Srivastava

Lucknow: Former Indian skipper and co-owner of Mumbai franchise in the Indian Premier League (IBL), Sunil Gavaskar, on Saturday thanked all the supporters for coming to cheer their favourite players. Gavaskar who turned up to support his team `Mumbai Masters` side, expressed his love for the sport and said that the crowd plays a major role in players’ performances. The 64-year-old said he played badminton in the off-season in order to keep himself fit. On a lighter note, Gavaskar said that he mostly played doubles matches since he didn’t have the legs and the lungs to play singles. Notably, Gavaskar along with renowned Telugu actor, Nagarjuna, bought the Mumbai franchise. The consortium also includes former manager of the Indian cricket team and businessman, Vankina Chamundeswaranath. Gavaskar is also the brand ambassador of the franchise. The million-dollar tournament kicked off on Wednesday with a glittering opening ceremony. It was a colourful show of laser lights, acrobatics, Bollywood songs and dance as the half-an-hour opening ceremony started the proceedings at the Siri Fort Sports complex.