BENGALURU: It is the dream of every cricket fan in the country to be associated with their cricket gods and teams. Two die hard fans of the IPL team Royal Challengers Bangalore have won an opportunity to not only get up close with the RCB stars but work for team full time for two months.
Bengalureans Mohit Kashyap, 24, has been appointed as the ‘Chief Photographer for RCB’ and Allen Abhishek, 30, has been given the title of a ‘Super fan’ and will be the ‘Social Media Specialist’ for the team during IPL, 2017. The two positions are full time assignments and the two have taken a two month break from their regular jobs – Mohit is an account manager with Vodafone and Allen is a recruitment specialist for IBM.
‘The Bold Army’ initiative of the RCB selects individuals who prove their worth and get selected to be a part of the RCB crew. This year saw a two-phase selection process to screen over 2000 applicants.
Since 2009 when the IPL started, Allen has been pivotal in bringing together the ‘RCB Fan Army’. Presently, there are as many as 1.2 lakh such fans on Facebook. “We gather for a lot of fan meet ups across the city to discuss everything related to the team. We come together to watch matches regularly during every IPL season,” says Allen who is looking forward to meet Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers.
The kinds of people who are part of this army are RCB fanatics, adds Allen. “We also have as many as 10 groups on WhatsApp where a number of updates, links to important events, details about team officials are given and discussions are hosted,” he says.
Mohit got into photography as a young boy and used to practice on his father’s SLR who himself was an avid photographer. “I like sports photgraphy a lot and have been a part of a few assignments involving a small boxing club in the city and the Bengaluru Football Club. In school I used to be into a lot of sports be it cricket, football or boxing,” he says. In due course of time he had to concentrate more on his studies and his sporting activities took a backseat. “My love for sports did not die,” he says.
Grateful for the opportunity given to him, he says, “ I am extremely excited and feel very privileged. I know that it is going to be an amazing experience,” says Mohit, who counts Rahul Dravid as his ultimate cricket hero.
“My all time favorite cricketer is Daniel Vettori. With regards to the present team, I am looking forward to meet with Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers,” he says. Mohit will be part of the team training sessions and any events, promotions related to RCB.
Mohit and Allen will be getting a stipend amount for the entire two months along with travel and dearness allowances and depending on the duration of their association the numbers may also be revised.