The opening ceremony is over, and the crowds are pouring in to watch the IPL matches, but off-the-field acton, it seems, is far from over. On Monday,  the Royal Challengers Bangalore team was going all guns -- though on the ramp this time. After pulling off a great win over the Mumbai Indians in their second match, the team was loudly cheered by the audience as they walked the ramp, sporting a special Royal Challengers collection designed by Louis Philippe. The collection comprised formal, semi-formal and evening wear designed using the Royal Challengers team colours.

“We were approached by the Royal Challengers team management to create a collection for the cricketers for the team to wear for their off-the field engagements. The collection does justice to the team and the players and has a flamboyant and opulent look,” said Vishak Kumar, COO, Louis Philippe.

 Cricketers Wasim Jaffer, Zaheer Khan and Jacques Kallis showed off the casual semi-formal look with a new innovation called the Z-shirt, and looked quite at ease on the ramp. Mandira Bedi interacted with the cricketers bringing out the lighter side of them. She even coaxed Wasim Jaffer to sing his favourite song --’O mere Sona Re...’ and in tune at that! Zaheer brushed aside marriage talk with a “focus on cricket’ answer”. And when Jacques Kallis was asked about his clothes, he admitted to being a shorts and tee-shirt man.

It was then the turn of Virat Kohli, Praveen Kumar, Ross Taylor and Cameron White to walk in the formals -  in a red shirt and smart black tie. Virat Kohli took to the ramp so well, that he broke into a dance as he walked. And Praveen  Kumar looked quite amused at the whole spectacle. “Cricket mein sab kuch badal gaya hein, ramp mein bhi chalna hein ab,” he smiled. Cameron White and Ross Taylor were both accompanied by Washington Redskin cheerleaders. While Ross answered to a question saying he would probably be a chicken farmer, if he wasn’t a cricketer, Cameron’s thought was clearly on the cheer leaders. He said: “It’s a pretty good innovation, they should be brought into test cricket too!”

The last bunch comprising Rahul Dravid, Shivnaraine Chanderpaul and Mark Boucher showed off their evening wear which had elegant red shirt, black pant and coat. They were accompanied by Venkatesh Prasad, Martin Crowe and Charu Sharma. Though  Boucher was cheerful, he refused to be pressured into singing by Mandira. Chanderpaul, while stating that Shahrukh was his favourite Bollywood actor, seemed quite irritated that the KIng Khan was “jumping up and down” during the first IPL match. Rahul Dravid was his usual diplomatic self but he admitted to being relieved after their win. When Mandira asked him: “If Test cricket is purist’s cricket, one-day cricket is a pyjama cricket, then what should twenty-twenty be called?” Rahul promptly answered: “Bikini cricket, because of the cheer leaders!”