Cricket’s flat world is going flatter. After demolishing the barriers in the insular cricketing world, the Twenty20 version of the game is on way to make the world its playground.
In a major innovation, former Indian Premier League (IPL) champions Rajasthan Royals (RR) is going global. It has joined forces with top domestic teams of other countries to form a conglomerate of Twenty20 teams.
“It’s a strategic alliance and a major innovation in world sport,’’ says Manoj Badale, chairman and co-founder of Royals.
The Royals is calling it a global sporting franchise and it includes teams from England, West Indies, Australia and South Africa. The team hopes to rope in teams from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and even Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. The franchisee will be called Royals 2020.
Initially, Hampshire (England), Cape Cobras (SA) and Trinidad (WI) and a yet-to-be-confirmed Australia state team are part of the global alliance, launched at Lord’s on Monday.
Consequently, these teams will be called Cape Royals, Hampshire Royals and Trinidad Royals.
The Royals2020 mission, an RR official says, is to provide the commercial platform for all. In the first year, they will organise three Royals festival - competition among the teams — in three different countries revenues from which will be shared among the teams.The Royals 2020 is expecting revenue from television rights, naming rights, licencing, merchandising and gates.
“We want to serve our sponsors, partners throughout the year. Currently our activities are confined to the two-month window of the IPL,” the franchisee official says.
Says Shane Warne, captain and head coach of Rajasthan Royals, “I am delighted to be a part of this new innovation, and I am excited by what we can achieve, given what we have already achieved. Yet again, the Royals are leading the way. It is a bonus that clubs with which I have such deep affection are so involved.’’
Says Rod Bransgrove, chairman of Hampshire, ``We consider the Rose Bowl to be the home of Twenty20 cricket in the UK, and this is a fabulous opportunity to extend the international reach of the game for us.’’
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