Bollywood stars to figure in Lanka rugby carnival

Colombo: Bollywood stars Vivek Oberoi, Bipasha Basu, Preity Zinta, Sameera Reddy and composer trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy are to figure in a rugby carnival in Sri Lanka, organisers said today.

Oberoi and Zinta are billed to appear in the central town of Kandy where the Carlton rugby sevens will be kicked off this weekend. Basu and Reddy are to appear in Colombo at the following weekend. Some ten teams will take part in the tournament, the brainchild of the first son, Namal Rajapaksa. President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his three sons are keen rugby enthusiasts. The national team is captained his second son, Yoshitha. The tournament has an international flavour with several international rugby players scheduled to make appearances, organisers said. Rugby, another British colonial legacy in the island is second only to cricket in popularity with large crowds attending even school competitions. PTI