OTTplay Exclusive! Who is a better cricketer? Shahid Kapoor or Ranveer Singh? Celebrity coach Rajiv Mehra reveals!

Some of the much-awaited projects from Bollywood are the sports drama 83 starring Ranveer Singh and Jersey, led by Shahid Kapoor. Both the films are based on the sport of cricket. And, the two actors have undergone vigorous training in cricket and fitness by the coach Rajiv Mehra for their respective movies. In an exclusive chat with OTTplay, Mehra reveals who plays the sport better. 

Ranveer Singh plays the role of Kapil Dev, former Indian cricket captain in the upcoming sports drama 83, which releases on December 24. As he has never played cricket in his life before, Mehra says it was quite challenging to train him. "Training Ranveer was like training a child. Since he has never played cricket before in his life, he would follow all the instructions as such," he says. Ranveer Singh had to also undergo tremendous physical transformation for 83. Mehra says he had come in for the training after completing Simba where he plays the role of a cop who has a beefed up and muscular look. So, he had to undergo complete physical transformation to turn into the renowned sportsman Dev. The film 83 is based on the cricket team which won India's first World Cup. The film is directed by Kabir Khan.   

On the other hand, Shahid Kapoor has played the sport recreationally. He has played gully cricket. "Shahid knows the sport since he has played before but he had to unlearn some things and pick up new things to play like a professional player," he says adding that training both involved different kind of challenges and mental training as well so that they could pick the body language of a professional player on the pitch. 

Kapoor plays the role of a cricketer in the film Jersey, which is the official remake of the Telugu film of the same name. The film is helmed by Gowtam Tinnanuri, who has also directed the Telugu film. Jersey will release in theatres on December 31, 2021.