Kerala Strikers likely to axe Asif Ali

KOCHI: Asif Ali, one of the most promising young stars in Malayalam cinema, is  likely to be axed from Malayalam cine actors cricket team AMMA’s Kerala Strikers. He has not been reporting at the training camps and had not even informed the team officials the reason of his absence. Sources in the team said that they were not able to contact him over phone or in person. Another young star, Prithviraj is also not attending the training camp but he had officially informed that he was busy with his shooting schedule.However, the Kerala Strikers team for its first Celebrity Cricket League (CCL) match against Chennai Rhinos will be announced on Tuesday. A sixteen-member squad will be selected from the nineteen teammates.  “It is a confusing task to drop three players from equally talented cricketers. It will be further difficult to drop five more players to select the 11-member squad for the match,” team coach Chandrasenan said. Expressing confidence in his team, coach Chandrasenan said: “I hope no team will pose a threat to us. We have seven all-rounders in the team, who are good at taking on any ball and also to bowl round the wicket.” The team will start practising on their home ground at the Jawaharlal Nehru International stadium, Kaloor, from Monday.  The team will leave for Hyderabad on January 20 for their first match in CCL against Chennai Rhinos.Ticket distribution for the Strikers’ lone home match, scheduled for January 22, against Mumbai Heroes will kickstart within a couple of days. The match will have the presence of major Malyalam film actors, politicians and other VIPs.