Category: Sports

Mumbai: India’s food court on an app – EatSure is gearing up for this T20 season 2023 with an exciting partnership as the official food delivery partner of one of the leading T20 teams – Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). EatSure, considered as a category creator in food delivery and an omnichannel player with online and offline presence will not only exclusively curate the eating experience at all RCB home matches in Bangalore’s Chinnaswamy Cricket Stadium but will also have exclusive offers on match days on its app platform.

With this association, EatSure became the first food-tech player to curate the entire food experience and bring multiple iconic brands, both own and partner, to a stadium during a T20 match. EatSure will offer multiple iconic brands such as Faasos, Oven Story Pizza, Behrouz Biryani, Sweet Truth, Wendy’s in the food court experience that it will be curating for fans at the stadium. EatSure will also be a one stop hunger killer for RCB and T20 fans, wherever they watch the match – be it their homes or in the stadium.

Podcast Sponsor

Along with being present as the official food delivery partner, EatSure will also be the official sponsor of the famous The RCB Podcast. As a property, the podcast has gained prominence since the start as it shared interesting life stories of key RCB players around a common theme – “Game Changers”.  The 2023 podcast will feature, Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis, Dinesh Karthik, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj and other favourite RCB stars talking about the game changing moments of their lives. The recent episodes with Virat Kohli and Faf Du Plessis, gained massive traction and snippets from the video were picked up by various sites and publications.

Watch the Virat Kohli episode of the podcast here:

Home city matches

As a part of this partnership, EatSure will get exclusive rights to sell food in the concessionaire area of the stadium across all 7 home matches of RCB. With multiple brands on offer, EatSure aims to connect with Indian cricket fans and strengthen its brand positioning.

Offers Galore for EatSure Customers

For the very first time, EatSure customers and RCB Fans will also get a chance to get their hands on match tickets & exclusive RCB merchandise. As a part of the many offerings that are being planned, EatSure will offer a chance to some lucky customers to watch the match live from the stadium and watch their favourite players in action. EatSure will also enable customers to win RCB branded memorabilia like jerseys, caps, bats etc.

Speaking on the occasion, Royal Challengers Bangalore head & vice president Rajesh Menon said, “We are delighted to partner with EatSure this season. RCB believes in creating a wholesome match experience for fans and F&B is central to at-home and stadium match viewing experience. We look forward to creating a great viewing experience during this season especially when the team returns to home stadium after three years”.

EatSure brand head Addarsh Barathi said, “We are pleased to announce our association with Royal Challengers Bangalore for 2023 T20 season. T20 is one of the most important cricket seasons which brings fans together across the country and RCB due to its charismatic team is a perfect partner for us. Additionally with the rollout of RCB’s lifestyle ambitions and T20 being a huge platform for engaging with consumers we believe our association with the team will enable us to enhance our brand visibility and drive consumption during the coming cricket season.”

Mumbai: Star Sports, the official television broadcaster of the Tata IPL 2023, announced a star-studded panel of commentators that features some of the most decorated players to have graced the 22 yards. Fans across India can look forward to some of the most respected, adored and knowledgeable experts from around the world presenting the event, LIVE & exclusive on the Star Sports Network.

Cricket aficionados can tune in to watch two T20 World Cup winning captains Paul Collingwood and Aaron Finch, the latter having played for nine IPL franchises, providing a captain’s perspective. Joining them will be former England and IPL legend Kevin Pietersen, whose extensive knowledge of the sport and colourful personality has made him a fan favourite over the years. Another fan favourite – Danny Morrison – will be seen in his elements on Star Sports’ coverage of TATA IPL 2023. One of the greatest all-rounders ever and a former IPL coach Jacques Kallis makes his debut on Star Sports’ panel. Former Australia batters David Hussey, who was also KKR mentor and Matthew Hayden, CSK legend, will join Kallis and Pietersen. Former Purple Cap winner Imran Tahir will lend his perspective on spin-bowling, expected to play a crucial role at certain venues as IPL travels to 12 venues for the first time ever.

Former IPL coaches Tom Moody, Daniel Vettori and Simon Katich will provide an insider’s view on the game, analysing tactics and plays.

The Star Sports panel will also boast of legendary Indian openers with contrasting batting and commentary styles  – Sunil Gavaskar and Virender Sehwag. Adding to the diversity and stature to the broadcast ranks will be Mithali Raj, one of the greatest women cricketers of all time. Four-time IPL and two-time World Champion Harbhajan Singh will be joined by winner of the first-ever IPL title Mohammad Kaif. 

The strong line-up also includes former India all-rounder and winner of ICC T20 World Cup 2007 – Irfan Pathan. Making his debut on Star Sports’ panel will be Irfan’s brother, two-time World champion and one of the most impactful IPL players ever – Yusuf Pathan. Former India opener and three-time IPL champion Murali Vijay makes a foray into sports broadcasting for the first time ever and will be joined by Laxmipathy Balaji, who also has three IPL titles to his name, two as player and one as member of the CSK coaching staff. The strong title winners’ list also includes Subramaniam Badrinath, who won two titles with CSK. S Sreesanth also joins the elite ranks of Star Sports’ experts and will infuse his infectious energy to the most watched Cricket show in India – Cricket Live.

Along with Sunil Gavaskar, 1983 World Cup winners Sandeep Patil and Kris Srikkanth also join Star Sports’ panel, adding a unique generational perspective to the broadcast.

The Telugu feed brings an unmatched viewing experience with a line-up of commentators which includes former IPL champions – Venugopal Rao and T Suman, who tasted success in 2009 with Deccan Chargers and Ashish Reddy, who won the title in 2016 with Sunrisers Hyderabad. Former Chief Selector of the Indian Cricket team – MSK Prasad – joins them to elevate the Telugu broadcast. Kalyan Krishna joins the ranks of elite former Cricketers to capture and celebrate the action and excitement of India’s biggest Cricketing festival. 

The Kannada commentary panel features former Indian cricketer Vijay Bharadwaj, Srinivasa Murthy (Jaani), former Karnataka coach GK Anil Kumar, former RCB trio Balachandra Akhil, Bharat Chipli and Pavan Deshpande along with Karnataka legend Gundappa Vishwanath. Current Big Boss (Kannada) winner Roopesh Shetty too joins the Kannada feed as he makes his debut into sports broadcasting. 

Former Indian cricketer Amol Muzumdar leads the broadcast in Marathi while former India cricketer Nayan Mongia will lead the ranks of Gujarati experts. The Malayalam and Bengali feeds will be led by two former Indian pacers in Tinu Yohanan and Ashoke Dinda respectively.

With a mix of IPL champions, world champions, successful IPL coaches, experienced broadcasters and legends from generations who build narratives, tell stories, analyse tactics, and provide insights, Star Sports is all set to bring alive an incredible experience for fans this Tata IPL 2023.

Mumbai: Star Sports, the official television broadcasters of the Tata IPL 2023, are leaving no stone unturned to raise the excitement levels and amp up the volume ahead of the opening day on 31 March. The latest installment of the ‘Shor On, Game On’ campaign features two dynamic Indian super stars – defending champions Gujarat Titans captain Hardik Pandya and Chennai Super Kings star Ravindra Jadeja – in a direct face-off for bragging rights.

The promo builds up to the opening clash between the Gujarat Titans and the Chennai Super Kings, with Hardik boasting about his team’s triumph in their debut IPL season. Meanwhile, Jadeja retorts that the CSK is the undisputed king of the IPL, with four titles under their belt. The film also features ‘Thala’ MS Dhoni, who appears after Jadeja blows the iconic CSK whistle. The promotional video has taken social media by storm with fans, influencers and celebrities appreciating the banter between the two rival players.

Star Sports will unveil more films featuring top cricketers like Rohit Sharma, Shreyas Iyer along with winners of #FanBanegaStar contest leading to the start of the mega tournament.

Mumbai: Viacom 18 has announced its partnership with five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians, as the official partner ahead of Tata IPL 2023. As part of this partnership, Mumbai Indians will make available to JioCinema, all of Mumbai Indians digital content that fans have loved over the years, including behind-the-scenes, marquee content with star players, and much more.

Viacom18, through the partnership will build an added layer of story-telling for the passionate fans of MI – the ‘Paltan’, which fans of cricket and sports will also truly enjoy. There will be  digital-exclusive and original content that fans can watch on JioCinema. Simultaneously, the partnership comes on the back of Viacom18’s commitment to conjure up top-notch content offerings as part of its Tata IPL coverage.

Mumbai Indians currently has over 50 million fans across the world, who are engaging and being entertained across platforms, and as the most followed Tata IPL team on Instagram, MI Paltan and cricket fans have come to enjoy the content experience. 

“MI Paltan is one of the most active and passionate fan bases in the world. This partnership will give them more reasons to engage with us,” a Mumbai Indians spokesperson said. “Working with JioCinema will give fans a comprehensive and immersive content experience. Our intent behind this association is to continue elevating our offerings to our fans.”

“We are thrilled to join forces with one of the world’s most successful T20 teams ever. Not just for their on-field exploits but Mumbai Indians are also very popular in terms of fan love, and that warrants nothing less than an unparalleled coverage of their journey as they go along,” said Viacom18 Sports head of strategy and partnerships Hursh Shrivastava. “The partnership will allow fans to be a fly on the wall through our lens and will help them interact with the franchise more intimately through JioCinema.”

At the start of 2023, Viacom18 unveiled a slew of original content featuring Tata IPL icons Suresh Raina, Chris Gayle, Anil Kumble, Robin Uthappa, RP Singh, Parthiv Patel, Pragyan Ojha, and Aakash Chopra. The shows are an eclectic mix of free-wheeling discussions, interviews and features that give fans the most insightful, never-seen-before, and in-depth story-telling available on JioCinema.

The 2023 season of Tata IPL will commence on 31 March, with defending champions Gujarat Titans taking on Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. All matches will be live on JioCinema for no cost this season. JioCinema is available to Airtel, Vi, Jio and BSNL subscribers.

Mumbai: The fourth edition of the prestigious Indian Sports Honours (ISH) is set to take place on Thursday, March 23, 2023, in Mumbai. The special event, which celebrates and recognises the spirit of sportsmanship and is conceptualised by Cornerstone, will honour top athletes from various sports who performed exceptionally well between January 1st, 2021 and February 28th, 2023. The ISH returns after a two-year absence, and the 2023 edition is expected to be the largest yet. Star Sports Network will broadcast the event.

Indian Sports Honours has partnered with Ernst & Young LLP (EY) acting as the process advisors to oversee and validate the entire selection and jury process with inputs from Sportskeeda. The jury panel includes chief national coach for the Indian Badminton team and former All-England champion Pullela Gopichand, along with 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist Abhinav Bindra and former Indian Hockey Captain Sardar Singh. In addition to the distinguished jury members, Indian boxer and Olympian Vijender Singh, legendary athlete P.T. Usha, former world number one shooter Anjali Bhagwat, and Disney + Star sports head Sanjog Gupta will also be part of the panel.

Top performing athletes will be shortlisted, selected, and awarded through 10 ‘Jury Honours’, six ‘Popular Choice Honours’ and one ‘Lifetime Achievement Honour’. The esteemed honours have a careful screening process in place wherein Sportskeeda will provide data for the jury, EY will further ratify the data and will share top four nominees in each category which will again be verified by Sportskeeda. Then the shortlisted nominees are shared with the Jury for selection of final winners. The winners of the six popular choice honours will be decided through an online poll which is already live on Twitter.

Jury Honours: Differently Abled Sportsman of the Year, Differently Abled Sportswoman of the Year, Emerging Sportsman of the Year, Emerging Sportswoman of the Year, Coach of the Year, Team of the Year, Sportsman of the Year (Individual), Sportswoman of the Year (Individual), Sportsman of the Year (Team), and Sportswoman of the Year (Team).

Popular Choice Honours: Incredible Young Performer of the Year in T20 League, Incredible Performance of the Year in T20 League, Fan Club of the Year, Comeback of the Year, Club of the Year, and Electrifying Performance of the Year.

Cornerstone Sport CEO Bunty Sajdeh said, “It gives us immense pleasure to bring back Indian Sports Honours. With these honours, we aim to recognise some of the best sporting talent and acknowledge the story of blood, sweat and success to a larger audience. The overwhelming response from sports fans has inspired us immensely and ensures we make the event bigger and better every year.”

Indian Sports Honours pays tribute to the unwavering passion for sports in India. The event brings together the entire Indian sports community, including legendary athletes, sports journalists, and passionate fans, who come together to recognise the dedication and talent of the country’s athletes.

Mumbai: playR, a sports and lifestyle company, has been signed by Mumbai Indians as one of their official merchandise partners from season 2023 onwards. playR is the

exclusive merchandise partner to manufacture and sell Mumbai Indians match jersey, training jersey and travel polo worldwide. In addition, playR will offer Fan Jerseys, Travel Polo, cricket equipment like bat, ball, gloves, pads etc, and Fitness Accessories like yoga mats, bags, bottles etc.

The wide range of choice for fans will give fans the opportunity to purchase merchandise that suit their lifestyle and accessories as per their personal preference. The Mumbai Indians official merchandise will be available across all leading retail stores in India and abroad, on Mumbai Indians’ MI Shop and playR website. A Mumbai Indians spokesperson said, “As we continue to grow globally it is imperative to build a wide range of merchandise that fans will cherish to own. We are happy to partner with playR to serve both current and new fans.”

playR co-founder & director Ravi Kukreja added, “Mumbai Indians fans will surely love the merchandise which is carefully designed and created this season for an exceptional experience. We are happy to work with the Mumbai Indians team and look forward to a great association this season and beyond.”

Mumbai: Dot Media’s influencer outfit, TGB Troop, executes the biggest Influencer marketing campaign for SportsBuzz11 with the #Buzzmakers, a sports content platform covering the world’s biggest sports and esports subjects for die-hard sports enthusiasts.

Through this association, TGB Troop brought together 120+ artists across categories and created a bespoke creator experience for them in Dubai for International League T20, with the primary objective being brand amplification. The campaign began on 18 January and concluded with the finale of the league with stars like Tanmay Bhatt, Awez Darbar, Krystle D’Souza & more in attendance.

Internet’s faces were in attendance including Ronit Ashra, Sakshi Keswani, Dhiraj Sanap, Aditya Thakare, Sapna Malik, Aamir Ali, Thugesh, Shreeman Legend & more with a total follower base of 155 million, posted actively about the campaign.

Tanmay’sContent:

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Sukriti’sContent :

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Dot Media CEO Shubham Singhal said, “We feel very fortunate to be able to kickstart our newest service CXP which is creator experiences with our dear friends at SB11. The one month long labor of love and sheer hard work from the amazing team here at Dot combined with the unmatched hospitality in the gulf, courtesy of SB11 – made us all realize that when like minded people come together, magic happens. The reach of this campaign was so massive that we’ve a whole team now that works exclusively in pitching and executing creator experiences as a concept, it’s been less than one month since we wrapped SB11 and we’re curating more as we go, I’m forever indebted to Dashmeet Sir for his trust and continued support, we really do owe him big.”

SportsBuzz11 offers a unique sporting experience. SportsBuzz11 aims to boost the skill level of the user to play fantasy games in a 100 per cent secure environment. The fantasy gaming platform has signed cricketer Nitish Rana as their brand ambassador. SportsBuzz11 managing director Dashmeet Kawatra said, “SportsBuzz11 is elated to Dot Media for this explosive launch plan for ILT20. Glad to have hosted such talented young creators and we truly look forward to a larger partnership in the works with our friends at Dot.”

Mumbai: Orangutan has got a slot in the Valorant Challenger South Asia which is going to be held in Delhi, India. This event is being co-hosted by Riot Games and Nodwin Gaming in India.

Orangutans’ entry into this competitive tournament will see the participation of its 5-man valorant roster which is based out of India. On 21 January 2023, Orangutan Gaming revealed its newly signed men’s Valorant roster in a grand fashion at Illenium which took place at NSCI Dome in Mumbai. Every esports athlete’s dream was realized with this one-of-a-kind reveal. With over 3500 attendees at the event, Orangutan Gaming live-debuted their newly signed Valorant Roster in front of their fans. Atlas Skilltech University served as the host institution for the Illenium event, which took place at the NSCI Dome.

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Orangutan Gaming has revamped its Valorant men’s roster and is ready for the upcoming Valorant Domestic League in India. The roster consists of 3 players from India and 2 players from the Philippines. Four of the players have been consistent performers in the Indian Valorant ecosystem along with a team known as Enigma Gaming and the last player coming in from a Philippines organization known as South Build.

The players that make up the Orangutan Gaming Valorant Roster are:

•     Sabyasachi “Antidote” Bose – India
•     Akram “Rawfiul” Virani – India
•     Rishi “RVK” Vijayakumar- India
•     Jon “Tesseract” Michael Piga – Philippines
•     Azis “Azys” Nandang – Philippines
•     Felipe “Skye” Lim – Singapore – Coach

Orangutan co-founder Jai Shah added “We at Orangutan have always viewed Valorant as our gateway to connecting with an international audience. If we want to get to the top, we need to have a team that is capable of doing so, and our new roster is definitely one that we consider to be the best roster in India. We are ready to take on the challenge, rise above in the VCL SA championship and look forward to seeing Orangutan represent India globally in the ASCENSION TOURNAMENT”.

Mumbai: Star Sports, the official television broadcaster of TATA IPL 2023, has been the home for cricket fans across the country for more than a decade. As fans gear up for the 16 edition of Tata IPL 2023, Star Sports for the first time ever has brought cricketers together to bring them closer to their fans. 

The purpose of bringing together cricketers like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli along with the captain of the defending champion in IPL – Hardik Pandya, captains of Lucknow Super Giants and Kolkata Knight Riders – KL Rahul & Shreyas Iyer, and Ravindra Jadeja (Chennai Super Kings), was to give fans an opportunity to get to know their favourite cricketers at a more personal level and witness a never-seen-before side to them as they share stories of successes, hardships, and joy from their journeys as well as their likes and dislikes. 

Link to the promo: 

Field pe yeh kaun hai, yeh toh aap jaante hi ho – ab waqt hai to get to know your favourite cricketers OFF the field!

Dekhiye Stars on Stars throughout the tournament, aur jaan lo inke ki baat. #IPLonStar #ShorOn #GameOn #BetterTogether #Cricket pic.twitter.com/BYWEg63fMJ

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) March 17, 2023

Speaking about the exclusive association with the cricketers this season, a Star Sports spokesperson said, “Fans love to cheer for their favourite heroes and are always intrigued by their personas off the field. As official TV broadcasters for the TATA IPL 2023, we want to bring fans closest to their heroes and help build an emotional connection which goes beyond on-field performances. We will continue to bring these stories alive during our coverage of IPL 2023, especially on India’s most watched cricket show – Cricket Live.

Star Sports has had a tradition of working closely with top cricketers to deepen their connection with fans and amplify their personas, be it legends like Rohit and Virat, superstars like Hardik and Jadeja or emerging leaders like Shreyas and Rahul. We look for a brand fit in with them with ‘Believe’ values of the Star Sports brand and work with them to inspire fans and galvanise fandom.”

Sharma, Kohli, Pandya, Iyer, Jadeja, and Rahul are also a part of Star Sports’ “Shor On, Game On” campaign which promotes community viewing, virtues of experiencing IPL together on a big screen, and the benefits of watching the tournament on Disney Star’s TV network.

Mumbai: Reliance Industries Limited owned Mumbai Indians has announced the proposed addition of a fifth cricket franchise – MI New York, to the growing MI #OneFamily, to be based in New York.

The team will participate in the inaugural edition of Major League Cricket (MLC) subject to completion of customary due diligence; negotiation, and execution of definitive binding agreements, and receipt of required corporate, regulatory and third-party approvals and compliances.

Nita M. Ambani said, “I am thrilled to welcome our New York franchise to the growing MI Family! With our entry into the first cricket league in the US, I hope we are able to establish Mumbai Indians as a global brand of fearless and entertaining cricket! This is another new beginning for MI and I look forward to the exciting journey ahead.”

The MI #OneFamily, is committed to expanding and promoting cricket across the globe, with MI New York being the fifth franchise after Mumbai Indians (IPL), MI Cape Town (SA20), MI Emirates (ILT20), and Mumbai Indians (WPL), in three different continents, four different countries, and five different leagues.

The Mumbai Indians are one of the most popular global cricket brands, with nearly 50 million digital fans worldwide supporting and cheering on their #Onefamily of teams, who play six months of cricket in marquee franchise leagues around the world. Since 2009, Mumbai Indians have increased their brand value by 99 per cent and have become the preferred partner for brands all over the world looking to build and tell their stories. Major League Cricket will be the United States’ first professional Twenty20 cricket championship. Major League Cricket’s inaugural season will begin in the summer of 2023.