Mumbai: The Indian Cricket League (ICL) has roped in Rakhi Sawant as the Queen Cheerleader for the Indian Cheerleading Squad called ICL Zeebras.

Sawant said, "Cheerleading is not just tamasha dance. It is a sport by itself. Until now it was the exclusive domain of the internationals. But now, thanks to ICL, this country will have an indigenous cheerleaders’ squad."

The Zeebra squad consists of eight cheerleaders – Ritika, Preeti, Jessica, Geeta, Richa, Sharvari, Jayshree & Sangeeta as members of the Indian Cheerleaders Squad. All the eight members have been personally auditioned & hand-picked by Sawant. The performances of ICLs Zeebras will be choreographed by Pratap.

"It was after my performance at Panchkula during ICL’s Season 1, that I saw a huge opportunity about a possible Indian cheerleading squad. That dialogue got resumed a few months later and culminated in the formation of the ICLs Zeebras. I can’t wait to don my Zeebra outfit and break into a jig every time Rohan (Gavaskar) or Raviraj (Patil) hits a six. I am sure, this will be one cheerleading squad that the country will remember for a long time to come," added. Sawant

ICL Sr. vice president marketing & operations Shariq Patel said, "Cheerleaders have a significant role to play in the modern context of sports. The ICLs Zeebras squad includes some extremely talented & graceful dancers. I am confident that this synergistic initiative between cricket & entertainment will formulate a completely new experience for the sports fans of the country. Our new initiative Cricket Hai Meri Life has been supported with a Rs. 500 million marketing campaign. This will be the new mantra for young cricketers all over at ICL."

The ICLs Zeebras is all set to perform across ICL match venues – Gurgaon, Panchkula, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad. Their debut ICL performance which will be at the opening ceremony on 10 Oct at Hyderabad.