Vidya Balan says cricketers have become more stylish since the inception of the IPL

Cricket and entertainment always go hand in hand in India and the Indian Premier League (IPL) have been a good mix of the two since its inception in 2008. Many of the franchises were sold to high profile Bollywood celebrities adding to the glamour of the most prestigious Indian domestic tournament.

Bollywood superstar Vidya Balan, who is not part of any franchise in the Indian Premier League, seems to be a big fan of the tournament and the game of cricket. She believes that cricketers have become more stylish since the Indian Premier League started.

“Cricketers have become more stylish since the IPL has come in. They have this additional pressure now. Earlier it was all focus on cricket,” Vidya was quoted as saying by India Today ahead of the opening encounter between RCB and SRH.

The flawless actress who is awaiting the release of her movie “Begum Jaan”, revealed that she is a big fan of the Mumbai Indians franchise that is owned by the Reliance Industries. Mumbai has been two times champion of the Indian Premier League and will be looking to create history this time around by winning the same for the third time as no team has ever done so.

The actor who seems to have an inclination towards the Bengali culture also named the Kolkata Knight Riders as her second favourite team not only because of Shah Rukh Khan but because of the Bengal connect.

Vidya said “I love Lasith Malinga. They have Harbhajan as well. The next best team for me is KKR and not just because it’s SRK’s team but (because of) the Bengal connect”

According to the national award-winning actor, the Indian Premier League is a great stage to promote movies and that is the reason why movies look for release during the event. She also hopes to witness a cricket match someday in the stadium which she has never done before.

“Films now look for release during IPL because it’s a great promotion opportunity. Earlier, films avoided being released because of cricket. I have never managed to watch a game in a stadium so far but (I hope to do that) sometime in the future.”