Mamata to inaugurate PKL, Ganguly to sing anthem

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will inaugurate the city leg of the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL) at the Netaji Indoor Stadium here on Wednesday, the organisers said on Tuesday.

Former India cricket skipper Sourav Ganguly too would be present at the opening ceremony and would sing the National Anthem just as Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan did at the Mumbai leg.

"Sourav will sing the National Anthem tomorrow (Wednesday). Every city we go to, a local celebrity sings the anthem to inaugurate the home leg," Bengal Warriors CEO Sandip Tarkas said on Tuesday.

Amitabh's star son Abhishek, who is the owner of Jaipur Pink Panthers, will also be present.

In the first game on Wednesday, hosts Warriors will lock horns with the defending champions Pink Panthers, who are raring to go after a bad loss in the opening game against U Mumba.

"We will obviously try and win this game. Bengal are a good team and Dinesh (Kumar, captain Warriors) is like my brother but we will give our 100 percent to see that we clinch the contest," Pink Panthers captain Navneet Gautam said in a media conference.

Warriors skipper Dinesh, who is leading the side for the first time, is optimistic that the outfit will bounce back strong after suffering a defeat against Benguluru Bulls in Mumbai on Sunday.

"When two teams battle, one has to lose but we hope not to repeat the mistakes we had committed in the first game. I hope we can put the best foot forward and come out on top tomorrow and win the other home matches too," Dinesh said.

Bulls will battle it out against Patna Pirates in the second match on Wednesday.