★ Salman Khan, Ranbir Kapoor are rage among SL women cricketers !

Feb 1, 2013 | Krithika Gopalkrishnan

Cricket and Bollywood share a wonderful chemistry, be it love affairs or buying IPL teams. And with the Women’s World Cup taking place in the Mecca of Bollywood, Mumbai, the chemistry only gets better.

However, this time, it’s the Sri Lankan women’s cricket team that’s going bonkers over Bollywood. Some of them prefer talking only in Hindi and hum Bollywood numbers all the time. And skipper Shashikala Siriwardene tops this list. “I started watching Hindi movies when I was a kid. They used to screen two movies a week in my hometown. The reason I got so hooked was because I understood them. The theatres always had Sinhalese translation. Eventually, I grasped the language too,” she said, excitedly.

Can you guess who her personal favourite is? Salman Khan, of course! Maine Pyaar Kiya is my favourite movie of Salman. The youngsters in our team prefer Ranbir Kapoor,” the 27-year-old said.

Besides entertainment, some of these movies are an inspiration to their cricketers. “The last movie I saw in a theatre was Dil Bole Hadippa. It appealed a lot to me as I could connect with the story. It is very similar to our lives. Women struggling to make a mark in cricket...,” said Shashikala, who is also an ardent fan of Kajol.

DNA India