Now, a reality show to scout for potential Sachin

New Delhi, Jan 15: Saas bahu sagas and family soaps may be back in circulation on television, dominating viewership levels, but fascination among television channels for reality shows continues unabated.

Having already trained focus on dancing divas and 'jodis', adorable hunks and beauties with hour glass figures, the reality TV wagonwheel has now entered the realm of sports.

After shows like 'Indian Idol, 'Fame Gurukul', 'Cinestars Ki Khoj', 'Nach Baliye' and 'Jhalak Dikhla Jaa' which brought into limelight several potential Shahrukh Khans, Sonu Nigams, Lata Mangeshkars and Kishore Kumars, 'Cricket Star', a new reality show, will scout for the potential Sourav Gangulies, Sachin Tendulkars, Kapil Devs and the Anil Kumbles.

Produced by Miditech, the pioneers in reality programming for Indian television having given to the country several 'idols' in the field of playback singing through shows like the 'Indian Idol' and 'Fame Gurukul' on Sony, 'Cricket Star' will have the best of cricketing talent in the country vie for the title of India's Cricketing idol.

The show, which went on air yesterday on Zee Sports, will witness cricketing experts like former Indian captains Kapil Dev and Sourav Ganguly judge the performances of 23 shortlisted cricketers, over a span of 33 episodes, to zero in on India's 'Cricket Star'.

The show will run for 11 weeks, with three weekly episodes on Zee Sports and DD National and a weekly one episode on Zee TV. While Kapil Dev and Saurav Ganguly will judge the performances of the 23 finalists, shortlisted after countrywide auditions, former cricketer Ajay Jadeja will play the role of an Expert and Analyst.

The 23 finalists will be spending 10 weeks at the ''Cricket Star Academy'' where they will be trained under the guidance of an expert panel which includes cricketers Robin Singh, Mushtaq Ahmed, Praveen Amre and Abey Kuruvilla. Life at the Academy will be hectic with a great combination of on-field training and class-room techniques. It will also include intense daily training, customised cricketing tests and 'Master Classes', conducted by some of the best known names in international cricket.

Each week, the contestants would will be divided into two teams.

Two well-known cricketing personalities would lead these teams as non-playing captains in matches to be played and will enter a face off in the exciting 20:20 format matches. The judges will then nominate 4 players, on the basis of their performance during and after the matches, for elimination. Two Contestants will leave the academy every week for the first 7 weeks and the viewers choice will decide the outcome in the last three episodes right upto the final winner.

In the first seven weeks, two contestants would have to leave the academy every week. In the last three weeks, the viewers will have the chance to vote to eliminate 2 contestants every week till the search ends for the country's first 'Cricket Star!'

The 23 finalists were shortlisted through a countrywide auditioning process wherein auditions were held in Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Delhi during which 11 youngsters were selected from each of the cities. The 44 talented cricketers selected at the auditions were then filtered down to 23.

Nikhil Alva, CEO, Miditech says, ''We have already auditioned thousands of youngsters from across the country and together with the help of our expert panel we have shortlisted the 23 finalists.

We believe that the ensuing stint at the Cricket Star Academy will not only help the viewers in determining India's first Cricket Star but will also provide the participants with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.'' The winner of the first series of 'Cricket Star', be it boy or girl, will win a year's all-expenses-paid contract with the prestigious Leicestershire County Cricket Club and attractive cash prizes. The final 11 participants will also have the opportunity to participate in the global rollout of Cricket Star, which is slated for a UK launch in the Summer of 2007.

The producers of the show feel that a show like the 'Cricket Star' will evoke an instant identification among the Indian audience considering that Cricket, along with Bollywood, constitutes one of the greatest passions of people in the country.

Says Nikhil Alva,''Cricket Star' is by far the largest talent-hunt reality series ever witnessed by the Indian audiences.

This innovative and ground breaking format has been conceptualised keeping in mind India's passion for Cricket.''

UNI