Jr NTR named ambassador for Telugu broadcast of IPL

One of the biggest film stars of south India, Junior NTR, has been named the official ambassador for the Telugu broadcast of Vivo IPL-2018 here on Tuesday, while Star MAA Movies was announced the final destination.

Speaking on the occasion, Jr NTR said he had always been a big fan of cricket, both as a player and now as a follower. “I grew up watching Sachin (Tendulkar) and now a big fan of Dhoni,” he said. “Cricket taught me to be humble and be accountable to millions of fans both in success and failure. Like in cricket, making a movie is all about team work. We are all equally responsible for the elements associated with it,” he said.

Jr NTR revealed that he was a pretty decent badminton player and was also passionate about rugby. “But destiny wanted me to be a film star. No one forced me to enter the field. Likewise, I will leave it to my kid to choose his field when he grows up. I will not rub off my interests on him,” said the actor.

Interestingly, Jr NTR said he was averse to doing any biopic on a cricketing hero fearing he may not do justice to him. “I am a little scared in portraying the role of a national cricketing hero,” he added. He said he would be at the ground cheering the team with his group of friends, including his trusted one Rajiv Kanakala.

Alok Jain, EVP and business head of Star MAA Network, who made the formal announcement, said the Telugu TV commentary panel included former cricketers S.L. Venkatapathi Raju, Y. Venugopala Rao, D. Kalyanakrishna, C. Venkatesh and P. Chandrasekhar. He added that it was sure to ensure ‘Maa and mana’ touch to the IPL edition this time around.