Star-Studded Parade Commences the IPL'09 in South Africa

The biggest cricket extravaganza, Indian Premier League (IPL), is back and this time things only get bigger and better as the action moves to South Africa.

The biggest cricketing stars have all descended in South Africa and joining them are some of Bollywood's biggest names. Last evening saw a star-studded parade where the 8 teams waved to their fans in the busy streets of Cape Town from an open-air bus.

Along with the cricketers, the team owners and franchisees were also present in full attendance. We bring you an exclusive slideshow of the fun-n-frolic that took place at the IPL Carnival in Cape Town.

Last year's winners 'Rajasthan Royals' were in their element and this time they also had the gorgeous Shilpa Shetty to cheer them.

Shilpa, who was not involved with the IPL last year, is now the co-owner of the 'Rajashthan Royals' team this year along with her beau Raj Kundra. Apart from Shilpa, the team bus had most of the Rajasthan Royals team members including the team captain Shane Warne and last year's star performer Swapnil Asnodkar.

Shane Warne seems to be in the mood for some fun as he tries to stick a fake moustache and get the typical Rajasthani look. Shilpa obviously can't stop laughing at the captain's funny antics.

The atmosphere at the IPL carnival only got bigger and better as Shah Rukh Khan and his 'Kolkata Knight Riders' waved to fans from their open-air bus. While SRK was in his element waving and blowing air-kisses to his fans, even his team-members like Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum seemed to be having a blast.

Post the parade, the team owners addressed a press conference and here too it was the Bollywood trio of Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta and Shilpa Shetty who seemed to be the most popular.

In fact so popular is the presence of Bollywood in South Africa that the organizers have decided to introduce a 'Miss Bollywood SA' contest with winners to be selected from the audiences attending matches.

The idea came from IPL commissioner Lalit Modi, who has employed the help of the three Bollywood idols associated with the tournament.

One 'Miss Bollywood of the Day' will be found at each of the 56 round-robin matches and her name will be announced during the 'strategy' break. The lucky girl also stands a chance of winning a trip to India, a role in a Bollywood film and 5,590 dollars if she eventually wins the 'Miss Bollywood South Africa' title.

The bubbly Preity Zinta is seen sporting her dimpled smile as she addresses the media at the Press conference in Cape Town.

Preity's team 'Kings XI Punjab' did pretty well last year to make it to the semis where they eventually lost to Dhoni's 'Chennai Super Kings'. Preity would be hoping that her team goes all the way this time in winning the prestigious IPL 2009.

Shah Rukh's team 'Kolkata Knight Riders' started with a bang last year but failed to perform when it mattered the most. King Khan would be hoping that his Knights deliver the goods and emerge victorious in this year's edition.

Shah Rukh and Preity have co-starred in a quite a few films together and are pretty close friends. However, when their respective teams clash on the cricket field, there would be some friendly rivalry between the two. From the looks of it, SRK seems keen on finding out what tricks Preity has up her sleeve this time around.

By Nikhil Ramsubramaniam

Photos : Shahrukh Khan and Shilpa Shetty at IPL 2009 ( Day 1 ) - Page 2 - FunEnclave