Kolkata, Apr 2: As Kolkata gets ready to unleash its love for cricket and Bollywood, fans of the nine Indian Premier League (IPL) teams lined up for tee-shirts and jerseys which were selling like hot-cakes across the eastern metropolis, hosting a gala opener to the sixth edition of the tournament at the Salt Lake stadium here Tuesday.
Sports and apparel brands like Adidas and Puma have stocked up their showrooms in Kolkata to match the demands of cricket buffs.
According to an Adidas official, the company will dish out Mumbai Indians, Pune Warriors and Delhi Daredevil jerseys.
Rajasthan Royal fans can get their tees from Puma.
Joining the fray, hawkers and street vendors in the city hub Esplanade - which is close to the Eden Gardens, venue of the first IPL match - have a huge variety to offer, with majority piling up defending champions KKR's jerseys.
"The most sold jersey till now is of the Kolkata Knight Riders as they were the winners last time," a street hawker told IANS. He also added: "This year, the sale has already begun even before the first match."
Hawkers and store-keepers expect a hike in sales compared to last year's matches, as the sixth season of IPL has been billed to be the grandest of all its editions by megastar Shah Rukh Khan, the brand ambassador of West Bengal and co-owner of KKR.
"We have brought three jerseys of KKR for me and my sisters from Dharamtala and have told all my friends to wear one on the match dates. We will be armoured knights along with the players. I am going for the first match at the Edens. This will be our uniform," student and die-hard KKR fan Rimita Saha told IANS.
Jerseys of Mumbai Indians, Delhi Daredevils and Chennai Super Kings are a second favourite.
