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Tag: Brijesh Patel

  • My11Circle Women’s T20 Challenge to air on Star Sports & Disney+Hotstar

    My11Circle Women’s T20 Challenge to air on Star Sports & Disney+Hotstar

    Mumbai: Even as the pulsating IPLT20 tournament has entered the playoff stage, Disney Star India has announced that it’s going to add to cricket lovers’ excitement by airing My11Circle Women’s T20 Challenge from 23 May to 28 May on the Star Sports network and stream it on Disney+ Hotstar as well. The tournament will have multilingual feeds in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada.

    The tournament features three teams Supernovas, Trailblazers and Velocity with Hamanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and Deepti Sharma respectively leading them. Shafali Verma, Deepti Sharma, Jemimah Rodrigues, Pooja Vastrakar, Yastika Bhatia, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Richa Ghosh, Poonam Yadav, Shafali Varma, Sneh Rana, and Taniya Bhatia are some of the national Indian cricketers who will be battling it out in Pune’s MCA stadium. The teams are also sprinkled with some overseas greats like Sophie Ecclestone, Deandra Dottin, Laura Wolvaardt. Hayley Matthews, Kathryn Cross, Salma Khatum and Sophia Brown.

    Each of the teams will play a match against the other, with the top two sides featuring in the final on 28 May.  

    Star Sports has launched a promo film in two languages (Hindi and Telugu) ahead of the start of the tournament. Created and conceptualised by the in-house team of Disney Star, it features Bollywood star Taapsee Pannu. 

    “My love for sports is known to all but the love for cricket is different,” said Taapsee Pannu. “In the last few years, we have seen that women’s cricket, in India and across the globe, has made huge progress not just in its technicality and competitiveness, but in popularity as a brand as well. The WT20 Challenge 2022 will undoubtedly be an extraordinary tournament featuring top cricketers and will offer immense excitement to fans and supporters of the game of cricket worldwide.”

    The WT20 Challenge has attracted Games24X7’s MyCircle 11 as a title sponsor, even as FanCraze, Ceat and Boost have come on as official partners. These were announced by the BCCI over the weekend. 

    “The return of the My11Circle Women’s T20 Challenge and with the interest being generated around the tournament we are well on our way to solidifying the pathway to a dedicated Women’s IPL and continue to grow participation of women in the sport,” IPL chairman Brijesh Patel had said during the announcement. “New partners coming on board is testament to the quality and popularity of the tournament. We hope the My11Circle WT20C provides ample opportunities for players to step up and be a role model for all the budding women cricketers and for those young fans who are the backbone of the sport. We thank all the Partners for their continuous support.”

    Added Games 24×7 co-founder & co-CEO Bhavin Pandya: “We are very excited to be title sponsors of the upcoming Women’s T20 Challenge 2022. One of the most endearing developments in the cricket world in the last few years is the growing popularity of women’s cricket. This contest, which will feature some of the finest cricketers in world cricket, will give a further fillip to the rising popularity of women’s cricket, and will offer immense excitement to fans and supporters of the game of cricket worldwide.”

    For cricket crazies, there’s a bounty in store. 

  • Tata Group to replace Vivo as title sponsor of IPL

    Tata Group to replace Vivo as title sponsor of IPL

    Mumbai: Business conglomerate Tata Group is all set to replace Vivo as the title sponsor for the Indian Premier League (IPL) next year, said the league chairman Brijesh Patel on Tuesday. The decision was announced post the governing council meeting.

    “Yes. Tata Group will replace Vivo as title sponsor,” Patel told PTI. The Chinese manufacturer still has two years left in its sponsorship deal with the league, and consequently, Tata will remain the main sponsor during this period.

    Meanwhile, the two new teams including Sanjiv Goenka’s RPSG group for the Lucknow Franchise and CVC Capital’s Ahmedabad team also received formal clearance from the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI).

    Vivo had a Rs 2200 crore deal for title sponsorship rights from 2018 to 2022 but the brand had to take a year-long break in between due to the ongoing tension between India and China. Dream11 had joined the league during the period. However, the Chinese giant returned as the title sponsor in 2021.

  • IPL 2020 logs record-breaking viewership

    IPL 2020 logs record-breaking viewership

    MUMBAI: When the Indian Premier League (IPL) went on hiatus in March due to the Covid2019 pandemic, fans wondered when they would get to see their favourite teams and cricketers play, if at all. But the IPL did return – with a bang. In spite of being held in the UAE, that too without in-stadia audience, the tournament has logged a record-breaking increase of 28 per cent in viewership as compared to the previous edition.

    From September 19 through November 10, the IPL enthralled fans with non-stop action which involved cliffhanger matches, splendid bowling spells, and spectacular batting. It not only enlivened the people after months of Covid-induced gloom, but also lifted up certain sections of the economy. In fact, IPL 2020 had 18 sponsors and 110 brands on board, which is the highest number of partners and advertisers in the history of the league.

    There are many noteworthy firsts for IPL 2020. For the first time, the title sponsor of IPL is a sports brand, Dream11. Fan engagement was driven digitally by creating digital fan walls in the stadium and the commentary box. The four large virtual fan walls include pre-recorded videos of cheerleaders on branded walls of sponsors. IPL teams like Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals launched digital initiatives to connect with fans. Mumbai Indians launched ‘MI Live’ and ‘Paltan Play’ and Rajasthan Royals started a community-based programme called ‘Super Royals’.

    IPL chairman Brijesh Patel said, “IPL has always endeavoured to provide a world-class sports event for its fans.”

    He thanked title sponsor Dream11, which associated itself with the hugely popular league after the BCCI parted ways with its earlier partner, Vivo.

    “With Dream11 coming on board as the title sponsor for IPL 2020, we are happy to see a  digital sports brand like Dream11 increasing fan engagement through fantasy sport. It is equally heartening to see how Dream11 has integrated its users in all Dream11 IPL match activations. The match countdown, Dream11 champion fans wall and the virtual guest box have all been brought about to bring the fans to the forefront.”

    Similar fan activity and engagement was witnessed on the fantasy sports app Dream11 too. The platform experienced a surge of 44.4 per cent traffic volume as against the final match of IPL 2019 and achieved above 5.3 million user concurrency.

    Dream11 chief marketing officer Vikrant Mudaliar said, “IPL is the biggest sports event in India that witnesses extremely high fan fervour, and we are happy to see similar engagement on Dream11. Fantasy sports have increasingly become integral to fan engagement with every IPL. Sports fans are at the centre of everything we do, and we have integrated our users in all Dream11 IPL match activations.”

  • BCCI announces Unacademy as official partner for IPL

    BCCI announces Unacademy as official partner for IPL

    MUMBAI: The Indian Premier League governing council (IPL GC) announced India’s largest learning platform Unacademy as official partner for IPL beginning with the 2020 edition which will be held in the UAE from 19 September onwards. The partnership will cover three seasons of the IPL.

    The Bengaluru-based edutech firm, Unacademy, aims to build an online knowledge repository for multilingual education by bringing expert educators together from across the globe.

    IPL chairman Brijesh Patel said: “We are pleased to have Unacademy on board as the ‘official partner’ of the Indian Premier League 2020 to 2022. IPL Is the most watched cricket league in India and as a homegrown Indian edutech company we believe that Unacademy can create a huge positive impact on the aspirations of the audience watching, especially the millions of Indian youth who are seeking inspiration in their careers.”

    Unacademy vice-president marketing Karan Shroff said: “We are delighted to become the official partner of IPL. Unacademy is a high-intensity brand that has disrupted the education and learning market with innovations and broken geographical barriers for Learners and Educators. The IPL has a similar history of disruption and innovation that have not only brought cricket fans closer to the game but also catapulted it to become one of the top sporting events in the world. With this partnership, we will double-down on our efforts to make Unacademy the biggest brand in the consumer-internet space in India. We thank the BCCI and IPL for the opportunity and look forward to a long and fruitful partnership.”

  • Dream 11 bags IPL title sponsorship rights

    Dream 11 bags IPL title sponsorship rights

    NEW DELHI: Fantasy sports platform Dream11 has bagged the title sponsorship rights of IPL 2020 for Rs 222 crore, as per PTI reports. The fantasy league platform has replaced the Chinese mobile phone brand Vivo for a four-and-a-half-month deal.

    Dream11 has been one of the IPL sponsors for a couple of years now. "Dream11 has won the rights with a bid of Rs 222 crore," IPL Chairman Brijesh Patel told news agencies.

    However, there has been no confirmation from Dream 11, at the time of filing this story.

    Companies like Tata Sons, Unacademy, and Bjyus participated in the bidding process. According to multiple media reports, Unacademy had bid Rs 210 crore, Tata Sons had bid Rs 180 crore and Byju's had bid Rs 125 crore.

    Vivo and BCCI postponed their partnership for one year due to the prevailing Sino-India border stand-off. Under the deal with Vivo, BCCI was receiving Rs 440 crore per year. The IPL will be held from September 19 to November 10 in the UAE this year.

    On August 10, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had sent out invitations to third parties to express their interest (EOI) in acquiring the title sponsorship rights for IPL 2020.

  • Savitha Goud is Essel Karnatakas best sportsperson

    MUMBAI: Ms Savitha Goud, National-level Cycling Champion has won the “Essel Karnataka’s Best Sportsperson” Award. The award was presented to her by the Chairman of the Essel Group and Zee Network, Mr. Subhash Chandra at a ceremony in Bangalore on February 22, 2007. The other winners are Mr. Arvind Savur (Cue Sports), Mr. Madiah (Golf), Ms. Malathi Holla (Wheelchair Athlete) and Mr. Pankaj Advani (Billiards and Snooker).

    The process of selecting Karnataka’s Best Sportsperson began in January. Nearly 150 nominations were received from the sportspersons and their well-wishers. A committee comprising senior journalists short-listed 15 sportspersons from among the nominations received. The list of the short-listed candidates was in-turn placed before an eminent Jury headed by Justice M. Ramakrishna, which selected five finalists.

    The public was invited to choose one among the top five finalists as the “Essel Karnataka’s Best Sportsperson” through SMS and tele-voting. Ms. Savitha Goud secured the highest number of votes and emerged as the winner.

    At the award ceremony held on February 22, 2007, sportspersons who have rendered yeoman service were also felicitated. They included: Ms. Ashwini Nachappa (Athletics), Mr. Ahmed Khan (Football), Mr. T.R. Swamy (Wrestling), Mr. Brijesh Patel (Cricket) and Mr. Prakash Padukone (Badminton).

    This is the second in the series of awards instituted by the Essel Group in Karnataka. The first award ceremony held in January was dedicated to Karnataka’s Best Legislator. “Our’s is a Group fired by the spirit of nationalism and patriotism. Through these awards, we hope to inspire the youth and instill in them a pride for India’s rich heritage. The awards represent the group’s strong resolve to empower the people and thereby build a vibrant and resurgent India” said Mr. Subhash Chandra, Chairman of the Group.

    “Our effort is to identify unsung heroes and celebrate their achievements. So that it serves as an inspiration to the youth,” said Mr. M. Gautham Machaiah, Vice-President, Corporate and Public Affairs, Essel Group.