BCL is much more than a reality show for me: Aasiya Kazi

Aasiya Kazi, who is playing for Ahmedabad Express in Ekta Kapoor and Anand Mishra's MTV BCL, says that she loves being part of the show. The actor adds that she gets completely involved in the game and BCL is much more than a reality show for her. "I've been part of BCL since the last two years and it's fun to play cricket in the tournament. Despite being a girl, I have always been passionate about cricket and I love watching it as well. I am so grateful to have got this opportunity to play the sport. There are only three girls in my team. The practice sessions are also fun. To people, it might look like a reality show, but when we're on field, playing or practicing, we actually play a serious game of cricket. It's not a reality show for us or for anyone who's part of the team," she says.

Talking about why she chose to be part of Ahmedabad Express, she says, "The reason behind me joining Ahmedabad Express in the first season was because Mrunal is a very dear friend of mine and I have known him since the last nine to ten years. Also, the year before, I met Gaurav and Nandish too. They're the owners of the team and are so sweet. They know all the possible ways to make their teammates comfortable. They understand us and our problems and make us feel like a family. With such owners, you want to be a part of the same team, season after season."

The shoot for the tournament is over and Aasiya says that she thoroughly enjoyed it. "As of now, we have completed the shoot for BCL. After we finished the final match yesterday, we were feeling quite upset and emotional. We couldn't really understand what to do now as BCL has been so much fun. The entire day you're shooting your individual shows and then at night, you go for practice. You follow this routine every day and you get so accustomed to it. Plus, the practice sessions are fun and besides getting to play cricket, you make new friends. This time, I have to say that the players in my team were so good, friendly and warm-hearted that all of us actually became a family in a short span of time," she says.

She adds, "I have made new friends in last two seasons as well as this season. As I said, everyone is so friendly and nice. While, you tend to talk and spend less time with the opposing team, you end up spending a lot of time with your teammates. This is what helps you gel with each other and become friends. I am not someone who goes out for parties and all. I just go for my shoot and then head straight home. So on the set, I do end up making some friends, but not much. However, when it comes to BCL, I've made really real good friends."

The actor adds that it was not tough for her to devote time to the game. "It was not tough for me at least, because, as I said, I am very passionate about cricket. I had already informed my production house before signing BCL, that I was going to be part of it and that I would need some adjustments from their side. On that condition, I did the show. That is how passionate I am about cricket," she says.

Her association with the game goes back to her childhood. "Actually my brother has always been fond of cricket and he used to watch test matches religiously, when we were young. So from childhood, I've always been watching the sport. Initially, we used to fight because I always wanted to watch cartoons and he always wanted to watch cricket. In fact, for this reason, my parents went on to buy two TVs in the house. But slowly, as I started watching and taking an interest in cricket, I started enjoying it and I became passionate about the game. In cricket, till the last moment, you really don't know what will happen. And similarly in BCL, till the last ball, you can't predict which team will win. Also, this is different from normal cricket since the ball used here, is a soft ball, which is very unpredictable. So, we don't really come to know what will happen in the next moment," she says.

In fact, Aasiya says that her team regarded all the other teams as tough competition. "For us, everyone was a tough competitor and we couldn't really predict who's strong and who's not. Even good teams lose their matches and I feel that we should have a competitive spirit towards everyone and be confident about ourselves. We shouldn't be concerned with who is in the opposite team and just play our game," she says.

Ask her how it was to work with Anand and Ekta, and she says, "It was very good working with them. I have a few friends working in Balaji and have ended up making some more. Benafsha and I used to play many pranks on set while shooting and it was a lot of fun."