Celebrity Clasico 2016 | You'll be surprised by the way cricketers play football: Kohli throws challenge to film stars

It took three years to reunite the Bollywood biggies and the icons of Indian cricket for a football match. The two sides first played each other in 2013 in New Delhi  for charity where the cricketers won. This time, they face off in another charity match to raise funds for the severe drought in Maharashtra.

‘Celebrity Classico 2016’ will be played between Virat Kohli-led All Heart Football Club (a property of The Virat Kohli Foundation) and Abhishek Bachchan’s All Stars Football Club (run by Playing for Humanity) at the Mumbai Football Arena, Andheri Sports Complex, on Saturday.

While speaking at a press conference on the eve of the game, where the jerseys of the two teams were also launched, Bachchan junior aptly summed up the change that the players have undergone in these three years. “Three years ago these guys (cricketers) were all kids and now they are in peak condition. Three years ago we were old and now we have grown older.”

Kohli looked as charged up as he was during India’s World T20 tie against Australia. “For a sportsman it’s very difficult to get rid of that aggressive intent and will to win,” he said when asked whether his intensity would be similar to that displayed on the cricket pitch.

The record-breaker didn’t stop there. He was quick to recall what happened the last time these two sides met. “Last time also we decided to make things friendly but things got very unfriendly on the pitch at times. But in the end we shook hands and went off the pitch,” said a smiling Kohli.

The maverick batsman hoped that the match would be competitive as the film stars have been training hard for the occasion, but he was not ready to give away even one inch without a fight. “You guys will be surprised by the way cricketers play football, that’s for sure,” said the right-hander, who sounded like he meant business.

Ajinkya Rahane who was also present at the event was happy to be part of the cause and said he wanted to give his best, having missed the earlier game. His batting slot in the Indian line-up has been chopped and changed a lot, so when he was asked about the position he prefers on a football field, the Mumbaikar gave a classic reply. “I play everywhere.”

Arjun Kapoor, who also didn’t turn up for the All Stars last time, was in a jovial mood. “I signed up just to take a selfie with the Indian team,” he joked.

“On a serious note, it would be a privilege to play against the men who represent our country. They train 365 days. We as actors don’t have to physically strain ourselves like them. So it’s great that they have taken out time for such a cause,” he said.

The All Stars team would be led on to the pitch by superstar Ranbir Kapoor as Bachchan won’t be able to take part due to an injury. He, however, promised to be on the sidelines. “I would be shouting instructions like Mourinho and we as actors would make up for the dearth in football talent by playing with heart,” he signed off.

All said and done, both the sides looked battle ready for Saturday’s clash. They say ‘charity begins at home’, for these guys charity begins on the football pitch.

Teams

All Heart Football Club

Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Shikhar Dhawan, Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Ajinkya Rahane, R Ashwin, Shreyas Iyer, Mayank Dagar, Bhuvneshwar, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul, Umesh Yadav, Manoj Tiwary, Ashok Dinda, Jehan Daruvala (Indian racer) and Miihier Singh (Physique athlete).

All Stars Football Club

Abhishek Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor, Dino Morea, Arjun Kapoor, Aditya Roy Kapoor, Sachiin Joshi, Kartik Aaryan, Raj Kundra, Karan Wahi, Shabbir Ahluwalia, Shoojit Sircar, Karan Mehra, Armaan Jain, Rohan Shrestha, Vivian D’Sena, Nishant Mehra, Jignesh Antala, Caesar Gonsalves, Antonio Pecora and Vikram Thapa.