Kings XI Punjab have found the voices for their mascots,Rocky and Ranjit It might be an off season for the Indian Premier League (IPL),which returns to action in April,but home team Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) is keeping the fans engaged and enthused. After a much publicised campaign,KXIP have found the voices for their mascots,Rocky and Ranjit. The two winners are Sandeep Kumar,a 25-year-old Jalandhar-based computer science teacher and aspiring radio jockey and Anuj Bhalla,a 22-year-old final year mass communications student from Chandigarh. The two men will now lend their voices for some animation movies,which will feature the teams mascots a pair of affable lions,Ranjit and Rocky known well for their wisecracks. The two will also get airtime on radio in the days running upto the next season. All through the IPL seasons,we run animation movies based on the mascots in cinemas,on ground and online. While our creative agency was handling the voice overs previously,we decided to involve the fans this time around, said Col (retd) Arvinder Singh,chief operating officer,KXIP. The IPL franchise ran a nationwide contest,Rocky and Ranjit Ki Khoj,during Season 4 in partnership with Big 92.7 FM and invited fans of the team to call in and record their voices on a toll free number. There were nearly 1,000 callers and we asked our radio partners to zero in on a select few,keeping various parameters like voice clarity and expression in mind, explained Singh. While Sandeep Kumar will be the voice for Rocky,the younger and savvier of the two mascots,Bhalla,will speak for the more sombre,albeit rustic character,Ranjit. I am a big supporter of KXIP,its our team after all. I am so glad I could be a part of this project, said a visibly excited Kumar. The two also get to pocket Rs 25,000 each as the prize money. Interestingly,the teams official online portal is a big hit off season as well. We have a huge fanbase that is very active online, mentioned Singh. Theres also a Ranjit and Rocky animation series up for view. Given the popularity of the lions,the teams management is looking to publish comic strips of the mascots,who are always heard making funny cricket-related one-liners peppered with Punjabi anecdotes. Get ready to be bowled over.
