GUWAHATI: Rajasthan Royals has announced its plan to embark on an embracing strategy to include Northeast India in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and create a wide reaching fan-base in the region for deeper integration into the Indian cricket ecosystem.
In a statement issued here on Thursday, it said that the IPL Governing Council has extended support to the team’s aspiration to play and expand footprints of cricket in the region and gave the go ahead to play matches at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium here.
Rajasthan Royals are playing two home IPL matches in Guwahati.
“With Assam having a pre-existing Royals fan base that includes sizeable percentage of Rajasthani and Marwari population which has enriched the state in economic, social and cultural fields, the Royals are delighted to be taking the cricketing fever of the Indian Premier League to new geographies across the country, and providing the fans with an opportunity to witness their favourite players from close quarters,” it said.
The beneficiary fans of the Northeastern states, including Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura, have a great passion for sports. Therefore, the Jaipur-based franchise is aiming to connect with the large population of the region that has not been part of this cricketing extravaganza as yet.
Until now, the Royals have been able to engage with their fans in Jaipur, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Mohali, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Indore, Pune, Ahmedabad, UAE and South Africa.
“Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) under the youthful guidance of a young leader like Vaibhav Gehlot, we hope will support this inclusive action for Northeast India both physically and digitally and should join hands with Rajasthan Royals in their endeavor to popularise cricket in a new geography, and embrace the Rajasthan fans to come and witness IPL matches both in Rajasthan and Assam,” Ranjit Barthakur, executive chairman for Rajasthan Royals, said.
“Having a spread over Rajasthan and Guwahati will give more choice to fans from the Northeast, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha and adjoining areas to get an incredible stadium experience,” Barthakur added.