Hyderabad…….What do you call that makes two ‘enemies friends’; ‘competitors collaborators’; ‘lazy guys to fitness freaks’ and turn smokers into non smokers? It can be called magic. And that magic is Cricket.
Two bitter rivals in our event industry have become good friends. They forgot their differences, rivalry and their past. They are good friends now, thanks to Sanaa ECube Premier Cricket League of the Event Industry, says Neeraj Thakur, General Secretary of Telangana Chamber of Events Industry (TCEI).
The premier cricket leagues of all sizes and shapes are happening in India. There are well over a hundred plus premier cricket leagues in the country. Of Late each profession has some cricket league. Doctors, Engineers, Interior Designers and many have them. Though we don’t know much about them. But, we can definitely talk about Sanaa ECube Premier Cricket League, an event industry’s biggest cricket league.
The league has done so much good for the comradery, says Neeraj Thakur, General Secretary of TCEI- Telangana Chamber of Events Industry (TCEI). This representative body of the Events, Exhibitions and Entertainment Entrepreneurs in Telangana has come out in 2015 with ECube Premier League for the event industry. Event industry professionals such as Event Managers, Wedding Planners, Performers, Suppliers, Caterers, Light and Sound professionals, anchors etc have been playing fun cricket matches on the lines of IPL for the past four seasons. The 5th season is being played and will end on 29th January with finals.
Interacting with the media at Vijay Anand Cricket Grounds at Shivrampally where the league is being held, Neeraj Thakur said, like in any fraternity, though we are friendly in the event industry association as members but are competitors to each other professionally in the marketplace. But, what the Premier League has taught us is to become collaborators. Many buried their differences. The two competitors have forged relationships and partnered in some joint ventures and are doing business together well.
Event professionals work for long hours. They are subjected to a lot of stress. They dont get free time even for their fitness. When we get some spare time, we sleep. That has been our lifestyle for so many years. But thanks to the ECube Premier Cricket Leagues which TCEI introduced four years ago, some of our late lateefs, lazy friends started getting up early for practice. They have become fitness conscious, says Vishesh Sinha, Owner of The Team Page 3 Panthers.
Another wonderful thing this league has done to our members is that it motivated smokers to stop smoking for some time to get prepared for the tournament. Some smokers quit smoking temporarily till the League is over to get fit to be able run well and improve their overall fitness. Though we don’t know if it really works but some have done this in the past shared Neeraj Thakur
The fun ECube Premier Cricket League has done more good to us as the fraternity of event professionals, it developed comradery, helped build better relationships, helped forge new alliances, cooperation and collaborations shared Ms. Rakhi Kankaria, President of TCEI who also owns a team called Rocky Rizers11.
Another experiment TCEI is doing now is that each of the six teams playing the league such as Team Page3 Panthers, Deccan Strikers, Rocky Rizers11, NM Page 3 Warriors, Alankrita Night Riders, Flying Horse Champions have one lady player. Not only did it make this must, they also made sure that the lady player has to bowl and bat compulsorily. We don’t know what it would lead to but, it is certainly encouraging more women players into the teams. According to Rakhi Kankari, 30 percent of the total Event Professionals are women. They are considered to be sharp, brainy and creative. That is why we want to encourage more women into the event industry, said Rakhi Kankaria, she herself owns a team. She is the only lady owner of the teams in the league.
According to Neeraj Thakur, Telangana has 1100 event management companies. About 5500 associates or allied companies support the event management industry. Nearly 50 lakh people depend on the event industry in Telangana.
Sanaa E Cube Premier League is organized by the Telangana Chamber of Events Industry (TCEI) is a representative body of the Events, Exhibitions and Entertainment Entrepreneurs in Telangana, informed Ms. Rakhi Kankaria, and President
E-Cube Premier League (EPL) is Indian Event Industry’s well known and annual flagship event. Four successful events are conducted so far. E-Cube Premier League is the only one of its kind league in the entire event industry in India. It features six teams who will vie for the title.
The season 5 which kick started on 26th January and will be held for 4 days and will conclude with finals on 29th January
The players are event professionals who include Event Managers, Wedding Planners, Performers, Suppliers, Caterers, Light and Sound professionals, anchors etc and others.
The six teams will play ten matches to decide the Champion on the finals to be held on the last day. The Champion will walk away with prize money of Rs 1 lakh, according to Neeraj Thakur, General Secretary of TCEI.
The league will feature over 90 players. There is one woman player each time. And it is mandatory that the woman player needs to bat and bowl. This is to encourage more women event professionals to play cricket.
30 percent of the event industry is women. They are said to be the most creative brains behind many successful events and the creativity.
The players are auctioned on the lines of IPL.