What is this Nayi League all about?

When we talk or think of sports in India the name that first comes to our mind is undoubtedly Cricket. Indians are attached to this sport whole-heartedly and emotionally. It is not very unusual to see otherwise busy streets empty when some crucial match is telecasted live. And whenever there is craze, there will be idols. 

Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly share a moment

Talking of cricketing stalwarts, again some names immediately appear to show their existence in our minds, like Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and many more. Thinking of the international scenario, there are again numerous names to mention. Now what comes immediately to your mind when I say Kapil Dev, I guess it is the first World Cup won by India as it happened under his captaincy.

A historic moment 

A proud moment indeed for the enter nation and Team India. Though we went on to win another World Cup later, but any first thing is special, isn't it? Hence Kapil Dev’s name will always be associated with creating history for Indian Cricket for the very first time.

India's worthy sons

But then cricketing or for that matter any sport is full of passion. Pursuing sports for a career requires adequate madness, immense interest and self-confidence. It also demands humongous hard work to taste success in the field. But once you are a star performer, a celebrity then the sky is the limit. Sportsmen are known for brand endorsements and advertising. Infact our favorite cricketer Kapil Dev was also spotted in numerous ad films etc. 

M.S Dhoni seen in an ad

But recently social networking is abuzz with a new league, which is about to commence, surprised? No it is not the IPL or anything close to that, frankly I have no idea of what it is, but my curiosity levels are sky high.

Former Indian Captain Kapil Dev is all over internet promoting and raising inquisitiveness amongst his fans about this New League or Ek Nayi League as is addressed in the buzz around.  His most powerful weapon seems to be the twitterati that he is pursuing, truly remarkable the power of online tools. However that is not what the question is, the question is the strangeness of the videos on air about this upcoming league. While sports are known for passion, a man who is an integral part of Indian sportsmanship says that if this new league is played with all heart, you will get to nothing but a googly.

So what can this be all about? Whenever we hear the word league we associate it with sports but there is another dictionary meaning of the word as well which says “a collection of people, countries or groups that combine for mutual protection or co-operation”. The word co-operation attracted me. The new league may be completely different from what we are guessing and may be a reality show like survival of the fittest. And in show of that format co-operation amongst contestants is a must. But again a contestant is not expected to play with his heart, because getting emotional can be detrimental to his/her future in the show. One needs to ruthlessly use his brain and the hence he says playing with heart will take you to defeat. I believe it is a celebrity reality show, and Kapil Dev will be the presenter. I also think that the celebrities will be from the sports background and hence the choice of presenter. Interesting isn’t it? I guess the revelation will be historic because all of us will know the reality and also know how far is our guess from it, waiting eagerly for the sport maestro to spill the beans on his twitter handle soon!

Reality shows come and go, but some of them remain with us. The ones which are played with truthfulness, transparency and heart (or brain as in this case <wink>, to say the least any organ will do> are prized. I would love to believe that this Nayi League will be amongst the remembered ones, because I want a stalwart like Kapil Dev to be associated with some thing praise worthy. However the million dollar question remains unanswered and eager to  get answered and that is “What is this Nayi League?”, is it at all any reality show or some celebrity sports league (which is also a reality show for sure but we generally use the terms differently)? Time will answer, till then let’s keep our anxiousness meter high and keep guessing. Wishing the pride of the nation the very best for his new venture!

Kapil Dev promoting the upcoming venture

 For more detailed information about this new league click on the following link: EK NAYI LEAGUE

Aritra Chakrabarty Sengupta