The abundance of hockey talent on show notwithstanding, the inaugural franchise-based World Series Hockey's fiercest rivalry could well be witnessed off the field.
The WSH will be played across eight cities in India from December 17 to January 12.
Inspired by the successful mix of cricket and Bollywood at the Indian Premier League Twenty20 cricket tournament, WSH organisers are keen to duplicate the same in hockey by planning to rope in two of Bollywood's biggest stars -- Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan -- whose professional rivalry is an open secret.
The Delhi franchise was acquired yesterday by entertainment company Wizcraft while the Mumbai franchise is set to be a consortium -- names of members are yet to be revealed.
According to WSH sources, Wizcraft are keen to get SRK on board the Delhi team. "SRK has been close to them for a while now.
He was also brand ambassador of one of the editions of their event, IIFA -- International Indian Film Academy awards. SRK is also a huge lover of hockey and has even played the game at school and college level. In fact, hockey has worked for him commercially through the hit movie, Chak De! India. Incidentally, he was born and brought up in Delhi. That's why he's been approached by the team owners, " a WSH source told MiD DAY.
Salman's love for hockey and football is well known too. Recently, the All India Football Federation appointed him ambassador of Indian football for a brief period before he was replaced by tennis ace Leander Paes.
"Salman's connection to WSH comes through Harish Thawani, the CEO of Nimbus, the event's prime promoters. They both hail from Mumbai's Bandra area and are good friends. Thawani has discussed the idea with him and the actor has, in principle, agreed to be part of the Mumbai brigade, " added the source.
Another Bollywood actor, Suniel Shetty, has already been roped in to be mentor of the Karnataka franchise.
