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Tag: Cricket

  • BCCI announces an increase in the monthly pensions of former cricketers and umpires

    BCCI announces an increase in the monthly pensions of former cricketers and umpires

    MUMBAI: At a time when the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) e-auction is making the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) richer by over Rs 46,000 crore, the board has announced a hike in monthly pensions of former cricketers (both men and women) and former umpires. More than 75 percent of the beneficiaries will get a 100 percent raise. People getting a pension of Rs 15,000 and Rs 22,500 a month will see that amount double. The highest bracket where the pension was Rs 50,000 will see a raise to Rs 70,000.

    BCCI president Sourav Ganguly said, “It is extremely important that the financial well-being of our former cricketers is taken care of. The players remain the lifeline and as a Board, it is our duty to be by their side once their playing days are over. The umpires have been unsung heroes and the BCCI truly values their contribution.”

    BCCI honorary secretary Jay Shah, said: “The welfare of our cricketers be it former or present is a top priority, and increasing pension amounts is a step in that direction. The BCCI values the contribution the umpires have made over the years and this is one way to express our gratitude for their diligent services to Indian Cricket. A total of around 900 personnel will get the benefit of the scheme with more than 75 percent of the beneficiaries getting a 100 percent raise.”

    BCCI honorary treasurer Arun Singh Dhumal said, “Whatever the BCCI is today, it is because of the contribution of its former cricketers and umpires. We are pleased to announce the increase in the monthly pensions which will be a gesture for the well-being of our former cricketers.”

     

  • 2022 IPL media rights value touches Rs 46,700 crore on Day 2

    2022 IPL media rights value touches Rs 46,700 crore on Day 2

    Mumbai: The Indian Premier League (IPL) media rights value has touched Rs 46,700 crore at the end of day two of the e-auction on Monday. The rights period is from 2023 to 2027 for 410 matches.

    TV rights went for Rs 23,575 crore while digital went for Rs 20,500 crore. TV will cost Rs 57.5 crore a game while digital will cost Rs 50 crore a game. There will be at least two broadcast partners.

    Two different broadcasters won the TV (Package A) and digital (Package B) broadcast rights. Reports indicate that Reliance Jio has won Package B. So far, the price of the combined TV and digital rights this year is almost three times the amount that Star India had paid in 2017.

    On the second day, the price of digital rights per match rose by Rs 2 crore from Rs 48 crore at the end of day one. But the price for TV rights only rose by Rs 50 lakhs a match when the bidding resumed on the second day.

    There is more drama to come. The digital non-exclusive rights (Package C) that include 98 games over five years are valued at Rs 18.5 crore per match. Bidders that did not get their hands on Package A and B may make a play for Package C. If Reliance Jio is unable to win the bid for Package C it would be unable to maximise the value of the digital broadcast rights which would be a blow to its revenue.

    Package D includes the media rights for the rest of the world and is set at a base price of Rs 3 crore per match or Rs 1,110 crore over five years.

    The highly anticipated auction was first announced on 29 March by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The contenders for broadcast rights included Disney Star, Sony Pictures Networks India and Viacom18. The bidders for digital rights include Zee Entertainment Enterprises, Disney+ Hotstar and Reliance Jio. Mjunction is conducting the auction.

    The IPL is the second most valuable sports property after the National Football League (NFL) in terms of broadcast price per match. The value of the media rights per match has reached almost Rs 114 crore leaving the Premier League behind which is valued at around Rs 81 crore per match. The action continues tomorrow.

  • IPL media rights likely to touch Rs 50, 000-60,000 crore: Elara Capital

    IPL media rights likely to touch Rs 50, 000-60,000 crore: Elara Capital

    Mumbai: The next cycle of the cash-rich T20 League Indian Premier League (IPL) media rights is expected to touch Rs 50,000-60,000 crore during the period 2023-2028, said Elara Capital in a note on June 7.

    In a statement, Elara Capital said, “Cricket may continue to enjoy such sheer dominance in India, medium-term, propped by large-lucrative properties such as the Indian Premier League (IPL). Thus, expect IPL renewal to underpin media rights growth in India, medium-term.”

    The value of digital rights is expected to double. The BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) has kept the base price for digital rights at Rs 33 crore a game. The TV rights value is expected to rise by 40-50 per cent. The base price for television is Rs 49 crore a match.

    “Expect digital to see premiums of 100 per cent over the current base, while TV premiums of 40 per cent. Based on these premiums, the share of digital might rise to 50 per cent in IPL media rights. We anticipate 6 per cent and 35 per cent revenue CAGR in FY23E-28E for TV and digital, respectively,” noted the brokerage business.

    According to Elara, one-third of Star’s revenue is IPL-led (TV + digital). “If Star wins IPL rights, this revenue contribution will augment to 40 per cent as digital growth will accelerate. As per our estimates, 70 per cent of Star India’s advertising-based video on demand revenue is IPL-led, with subscription video on demand revenue largely following suit,” the brokerage firm added.

    The report also noted that TV viewership growth will be a challenge and growth will be in the single digits of 3-4 per cent. However, digital will fare much better.

  • FanCode to exclusively broadcast India tour of West Indies in July

    FanCode to exclusively broadcast India tour of West Indies in July

    Mumbai: India’s premier digital sports destination FanCode has become the exclusive broadcaster for CWI until 2024, and will be the only platform streaming these matches live for Indian audiences. With this, FanCode has become the first-ever digital-only platform to host an India bilateral series and is expected to reach 10 crore sports fans.  

    The series will be played during India’s prime-time with ODIs starting at 7 pm and T20Is starting at 8 pm IST; and fans can watch the action live across FanCode app and its official website.  

    Cricket West Indies (CWI) and the board of control for cricket in India (BCCI) announced India’s tour of the West Indies to play three ODIs and five T20Is between 22 July and 07 August. The ODI series and three T20Is will be hosted across Trinidad and Tobago and St Kitts & Nevis, with the final two T20Is scheduled for Lauderhill, Florida in the USA.   

    FanCode has developed a comprehensive and immersive digital experience aimed at redefining sports consumption for fans in India. Fans can customize their experience and select their commentary language, statistics and analysis of choice through interactive overlays while watching the live stream. From Kohli’s beautiful straight drive to Rovman Powell’s clean power hitting, they will also be able to rewatch and relive any moment from the game almost in real-time. Another offering unique to FanCode is its focus on keeping the series accessible to all users with subscription options like Tour Pass and Match Pass, where fans can select and pay for the entire series or certain matches they want to watch.

    The series is highly anticipated as India returns to the Caribbean after three years and will be led by new captains Rohit Sharma and Nicholas Pooran, with the latter taking over the reins from Kieron Pollard. The series will be a culmination of an action-packed summer for both the teams in the buildup to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022.

    Speaking about this, Cricket West Indies CEO Johnny Grave said, “Our four-year deal with FanCode has brought Indian cricket fans closer to CWI’s live properties across multiple formats that has featured the top cricketing nations like South Africa, Pakistan, Australia and England. FanCode has become the go-to platform for Indian fans to consume cricket in a digital-first manner which has redefined the sports viewing experience.”

    Commenting on the Tour, FanCode co-founder Prasana Krishnan said, “We are delighted to bring the iconic series to our consumers. Our long-term partnership with CWI is a testament of our commitment to providing our users with a fan-first digital experience. FanCode will ensure a customized and seamless experience, right from the choice of their preferred language, match graphics, and real-time highlights, to a multitude of subscription options.”

    West Indies Captain Nicholas Pooran on the upcoming series, said, “We have a young team that is eager to restore the brand of cricket the West Indies team is known for playing. As I take charge of this team, our ambition is to always be competitive, as we look to use this series to fine tune our preparations for the upcoming T20 and 50 Over World Cups.”

  • Neeraj Pandey, Voot Select unveil upcoming web series ‘Bandon Mein Tha Dum’

    Neeraj Pandey, Voot Select unveil upcoming web series ‘Bandon Mein Tha Dum’

    Mumbai: Voot Select on Wednesday launched the trailer of its upcoming web series, titled Bandon Mein Tha Dum. The series will show the nail-biting journey of the 2020/21 India tour of Australia. Directed by Neeraj Pandey the web series will soon premiere exclusively on Voot Select.

    The trailer was unveiled at a grand launch in the presence of ace cricketers Ajinkya Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Siraj, Cheteshwar Pujara and Hanuma Vihari and director Neeraj Pandey.

    Coupled with a powerful script, behind-the-scenes footage, candid narratives from the winning squad like Ajinkya Rahane, Ravichandran Ashwin, Cheteshwar Pujara, Mohammad Siraj, Rishabh Pant and Hanuma Vihari, their coaches, as well as journalists who covered the series, Bandon Mein Tha Dum sheds light on the trials and tribulations that the Indian cricket team had to navigate ahead of their unforgettable victory against team Australia at their home ground of Gabba, where they hadn’t lost a Test match for 32 years. The web-series focuses on how the team played extraordinarily high-quality cricket and simultaneously redefined the concept of hard work, perseverance, determination, and commitment, setting the highest standards of sportsmanship while breathing new life into the fading format of Test cricket!

    Talking about how Bandon Mein Tha Dum came about, Neeraj Pandey said, “Bandon Mein Tha Dum is an epic tale that outlines ‘Miracles do happen’ and it happened in the India-Australia Test series 2020/2021 which culminated in India’s stunning defeat of the world no.1 test side at their hallowed home turf of Gabba where they hadn’t lost a test match for 32 years. The series was won by India in such a manner that it not only captured the imagination of the entire nation but also provided tremendous joy to the cricketing and wider sporting community all over the world at a time when people were still trying to come to terms with the devastation Covid-19 had brought in their lives. The human stories in this cricketing fairy tale elevated the series beyond a cricketing audience and created huge euphoria across all segments of Indian society. The nation was gripped and it was therefore befitting for us to bring the story to the people of India of one of the greatest comebacks in the history of sports and cricket.

    Nothing excited me more than retelling this story which went beyond high-quality cricket, hard work, perseverance, determination, commitment, sportsmanship and decoding the x-factor through the mind of the players which repeated the David Vs Goliath story!”

    Talking about the series, Viacom18 Digital Ventures chief operating officer Gourav Rakshit said, “At Viacom18 Digital Ventures we have successfully built an ecosystem that caters to the evolving needs of our viewers. With a strategy to create an everyday consumption proposition, we have consistently brought forward entertainment that is high in quality and binge-worthy. Our robustly curated content mix and our success with digital-first is a testament to our commitment to providing viewers with game-changing experiences. ‘Bandon Mein Tha Dum’ is the first of the many such narratives and we will continue to explore new genres and avenues that are in sync with our audience’s core values.”

    Further Viacom18 head- SVoD and international business Ferzad Palia added, “Bandon Mein Tha Dum is a story that every Indian deserves to know, and re-live. The series is based upon the unheard stories and the real struggles behind the victory of the Indian cricket team during one of it’s toughest times. Neeraj is a storyteller par excellence and we are honoured to have him create this special event series for our members. This is the first among many of an entertainment slate like never before. We’re certain that the series will set a new benchmark in special event storytelling.”

  • Star Sports launches new campaign ‘#ChaseTheRecord’ with Amir Khan

    Star Sports launches new campaign ‘#ChaseTheRecord’ with Amir Khan

    Mumbai: Star Sports Network has launched a new campaign, #ChaseTheRecord, featuring Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan.

    Created and conceptualized by the in-house team at Star Sports, the campaign film showcases Aamir Khan donning the team India jersey while echoing the chorus of fans and waiting to be part of this historic occasion.

    After two months of scintillating the IPL auction, T20 cricket continues as team India is all set to create history in a five-match T20 International series against South Africa. India will look to accomplish a 13-0 winning streak during the first T20I when the bilateral series gets underway on 9 June 2022, live and exclusive on the Star Sports Network and Disney+ Hotstar. The campaign aims to magnify this idea.

    Speaking of the campaign, Star Sports spokesperson said, “Following an exciting IPL, the focus now shifts to bilateral series which brings back the ‘Believe In Blue’ narrative as team India plays for another world record. The campaign puts into perspective the tremendous fan support and belief the country has behind the Men In Blue. This will be a continuing journey across the calendar of events that lead to the main ICC T20 World Cup later this year. Aamir Khan was a natural fit for this film, and he has been exceptional in making the clarion call to viewers and fans to back the Men In Blue.”

    On being a part of this campaign, actor Aamir Khan said, “There’s always a very special feeling when team India is in action. This time, they come together post franchise cricket to play for India and for the world record of thirteen consecutive T20I wins. Like we cheer a bowler, as he starts his run up before a hat-trick, similarly it’s time to cheer for our boys-in-blue before this historic moment! I have blocked my time from 7 PM on 9 June 2022 like all the other fans for the opening match and I’m ready to cheer for my team consisting of some amazing young and deserving talent who have proven their mettle in the IPL.”

  • “FanCode is focused on delivering value to our users”: Yannick Colaco

    “FanCode is focused on delivering value to our users”: Yannick Colaco

    Mumbai: India’s premier digital sports destination FanCode is initiating a slew of new offerings on its platform. FanCode deals in three major areas like live content, sports statistics, analysis and commerce. 

    Under the umbrella of Dream Sports, FanCode was launched to change the dynamics of sports consumption in India. The platform offers live streaming, sports data, analytics, statistics, a merchandising store, tour passes, expert analysis, opinions and the latest sports news.

    The company is led by co-founders Yannick Colaco and Prasana Krishnan. Both worked together at sports broadcaster Nimbus Sports until 2013. Colaco went on to join the National Basketball Association (NBA) while Krishnan joined Sony Pictures Networks India.

    Colaco was part of the international leadership team of the NBA and managing director of its India business. He spent the next six years driving the grassroots development of the basketball sport in India, setting up a full-fledged NBA Academy and building partnerships across licensing, content and marketing initiatives. He was also instrumental in bringing the first-ever NBA Games to India. 

    A consummate sports enthusiast, Colaco has been in the sports and media industry for two decades. In his view, avid sports fans in the country were underserviced when it came to accessibility to sports content. The consumption of sports content was fragmented across multiple platforms.

    He joined forces with Krishnan in 2019 to launch their entrepreneurial venture with a commitment to give sports fans a highly personalised and unified experience of sports content.

    Colaco told Indiantelevision.com that FanCode’s goal is to “redefine the way sports fans follow their favourite sports by creating a more integrated and immersive experience as well as by giving them greater access to a wide variety of sports content.”

    In an in-depth conversation with journalist Ashwin Pinto, FanCode co-founder Yannick Colaco spoke about the company’s progress, challenges, trends in the sports business, acquisitions, expansion plans and more. 

    Edited Excerpts: 

    On the progress, FanCode has achieved

    FanCode focuses on redefining the way sports fans follow their favourite sports by creating a more integrated and immersive experience. It gives them access to a wide variety of sports content. Our greatest ally in delivering on this is the ability to unlock the potential of digital for sports fans.

    Since 2019, the company has significantly upgraded the viewer’s experience by integrating key services which are fundamental to their ability to follow their favourite sports. The services supply include live scores & commentary, live stream & video on demand, match insights & analytics, and official fan merchandise. All of this while supplying fans access to live streams of over 350 events and over 50,000 hours of live content. We are thrilled at the way sports fans have embraced our product and we now have over fifty million users on FanCode. 

    On the challenges faced by FanCode and its determination to be a standalone product

    FanCode is focused on delivering value to its users. Every offering that this company provides has been predicated. Given the response received so far, its viewers see value in having an integrated experience, rather than having to access multiple products to follow the same match or event.

    Fortunately, having an amazing team of FanCoders, including some of the best talents in the country, who have met the challenges head-on and continue to deliver amazing results, FanCode is blessed to meet all its product and technological challenges and give a seamless experience.

    Indian sports fans have limited access to great sports content. An integrated solution before the launch of FanCode did not exist overseas. Some companies do provide streaming of sports content but are limited to offering news and analysis. Earlier, the experience for the viewers was broken.

    On FanCode’s business model as an SVOD platform and cracking micro-transactions

    Paying for content on digital platforms is still very new in India. Realising the need for paid users at a very early stage FanCode worked on a priority basis in expanding the ecosystem. As per the feedback received, the company found out that the largest constraints were not willing to pay even for the entry tickets. To address these, it took a page out of the hugely successful sachet pricing strategy of FMCGs in India and gave fans the ability to buy matches and events, instead of buying only monthly and annual packages. The company has also invested significantly in building technology around an in-house subscription service which created an exceptionally smooth and seamless purchase experience.

    Results have been great with a rapidly growing number of transacting users. What’s also remarkably interesting is that many match and tour subscribers come back to buy multiple times and even upgrade to annual packages.

    On offering sports fans a personalised experience

    For Fancode success is about users’ seamless experience. For example, if you’re a fan of Virat Kohli, you should be able to watch him bat, watch replays of his best shots, access his stats in the current match and his career, chat with other Kohli fans, and buy his jersey; all inside the same experience with minimal friction. 

    Personalisation of experience is an extremely important part and thus the focus is exactly on where to invest significant resources over the next year. Sports fans wear their allegiance on their sleeves and are happy to talk about who they support. It is the company’s job to take this data and build technology solutions to provide a customised experience for higher engagement.

    On setting new trends in sports consumption

    The migration of fans from traditional modes of sports consumption like linear TV, newspapers, etc., to digital channels, has been phenomenal and this continues at a rapid pace. With this migration, the expectation of what a fan should have access to has also grown. Fans want to access scores, live matches, highlights, and stats. They want everything packaged in bite sizes and they want it at once.

    On its foray into streaming sports content

    There is absolutely no doubt that there is a significant growth in fandom for sports in general across India. As FanCode continues to expand the range of events and sports that are featured, a lot of growth in other sports is also observed, which were previously underserved.

    There is some particularly good traction in partnership with Major League Baseball and the J League (football) as well as the remarkable thing is that every user who consumes these on this platform is authenticated and not just a blip on a rating scale. For FanCode, it becomes easy to improvise by having an amazing opportunity to build a direct relationship with consumers and get real-time feedback.

    On the acquisition strategy behind FanDuniya

    The acquisition of FanDuniya helped in strengthening sports statistics and analytics offering under FC stats. It helps to build one of the largest stat hubs. FanCode will continue to explore these opportunities to help create more value for the users.

    On launching its merchandising store FanCode Shop

    Sports merchandise has been a significantly underserved market in India. As sports fandom has grown the demand for fan gear has increased. There are other many elements to consider including ranges of fan gear, styling, name and number gear, fit, pricing, etc. and honestly, the market has been ignorant of most of these.

    FanCode spent a significant amount of time with the teams and leagues it partnered with, which caters to fans across the country and now has over 30 sports brands with more than 800 products. Making fan gear, and variations of it, accessible and affordable has been an important part of growing the ecosystem.

    It has partnered with several sports leagues and teams for their licensed merchandise and worked with official partners of many of the other leagues and teams which enabled it to be a comprehensive destination for fan merchandising including 10 IPL teams, NBA, Manchester City FC, Liverpool FC, FC Barcelona, Bengaluru FC, MotoGP and WWE. We also improvise our technology to innovate and deliver rapid turnaround times in both the creation and distribution of fan gear, ensuring that fans will have the latest, most topical designs of their favourite sports brands and teams.

  • Taboola releases readership insights for April 2022

    Taboola releases readership insights for April 2022

    Mumbai: Taboola, a front-runner in powering recommendations for the open web, today released the readership insights for the month of April, 2022. These insights from Taboola’s Newsroom revealed the topics of interest of Indian readers that gauged their attention. Over the last month, a huge surge in the page view traffic on specific subject-focused articles showcased a tremendous shift in the reading interest of the population, increasing their awareness of the ongoing pandemic and keeping themselves entertained.

    Here are some of the key insights revealed from the readership trends released:

    The threat of new Covid Wave

    The rising cases of coronavirus in the subcontinent alerted the readers as Taboola Newsroom saw a 65 percent surge in readership to 23 million pageviews peaking in mid-April. As Delhi and NCR region reported maximum cases, article headlines mentioning Delhi and COVID also peaked by 137 percent.

    India’s love for cricket

    Nothing causes a stronger buzz in India as much as cricket does. The new season of IPL caused an 877 percent surge in the readership by drawing a traffic of 14 million pageviews over the last 45 days. As people searched to gather updates about their favourite teams and players, Chennai Super Kings gained a lot of traffic during the season since the start of March while Gujarat Titans and Punjab Kings saw a surge from mid-April.  

    Celebrating celebrity unions

    The celebrity wedding of Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor caused much anticipation in the country. According to Taboola Newsroom, Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor drove 24 million (350 percent) and 15 million (1,831 percent) pageviews since early April, respectively. The couple tied the knot on 14 April 2022 and continue to drive readership in the entertainment segment as the country is geared up to know more about the newlyweds.

    Data from Taboola Newsroom identifies topics and news categories, which have seen an increase in pageview traffic for the past 53 days. This data comes from the wide network of Indian news publishers Taboola works with. Taboola’s news publisher partners have access to data on trending topics in the Topic Insights part of Taboola Newsroom, a real-time audience analytics platform.

  • Sony Sports Network launches ‘Non-Stop cricket’ campaign

    Sony Sports Network launches ‘Non-Stop cricket’ campaign

    Mumbai: Sony Sports Network has launched its new campaign for cricket that provides the chance to celebrate India’s favourite game in 2022. The sports network launched the first of three films this week, which is a part of their campaign titled ‘Non-Stop cricket on Sony Sports Network’ on its sports channels and social media platforms.

    For the first time, audiences will get to see one of India’s finest cricketers, Smriti Mandhana and Bollywood’s most talked-about actor, Pankaj Tripathi, come together to promote the non-stop cricketing action on the sports network. The campaign also emphasises the cricket roster on the network with the apt tagline ‘Ab cricket fans ke pass hai celebration ka big reason, kyunki sony pe dikhega cricket ka full seasons.’

    The campaign stands out from other conventional cricket campaigns as the first-time viewers will see one of India’s biggest women cricketers helming the campaign for all formats of men’s and women’s cricket.  

    Sony Pictures Networks India, chief revenue officer, distribution and head-sports business, Rajesh Kaul said, “We have taken a clutter-breaking approach and used a leading woman cricketer to promote men’s cricket in a first of its kind campaign. Smriti Mandhana, the opening batter for Team India was a perfect choice to front our campaign, ‘Non-Stop cricket on Sony Sports Network’ and the film showcase and cement our position as the best destination for year-round quality cricketing action. With over 1800 hours of Live cricket, our fans will get to watch exciting matches that include India Men’s and Women’s cricket series, International T20i leagues and more.”

    Bollywood actor Pankaj Tripathi said, “I am delighted to be a part of such an inclusive campaign by Sony Sports Network where Bollywood meets cricket in an innovative manner. The campaign takes a clutter-breaking route with Smriti Mandhana, one of India’s top cricketers, promoting men’s cricket among others from the non-stop cricket roster on their network.”

    India Women’s Cricket Team member Smriti Mandhana added, “I am excited to be a part of the ‘Non-Stop cricket on Sony Sports Network’ campaign. The messaging is not only innovative but also progressive. It is a great association, and I am looking forward to the cricketing season on Sony Sports Network.”

  • Knight Riders Group acquires Abu Dhabi franchise in UAE T20 League

    Knight Riders Group acquires Abu Dhabi franchise in UAE T20 League

    Mumbai: UAE’s T20 League has announced that Knight Riders Group has acquired the rights to own and operate the Abu Dhabi franchise and will set up Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (ADKR) as a part of the UAE’s flagship T20 league.

    After establishing Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2008 in the Indian Premier League (IPL), the Knight Riders became owners of the Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) in 2015. Recently, the Knight Riders Group made an investment in Major League Cricket (MLC) in the US and intends to set up a franchise in the greater Los Angeles area.

    This investment by the Knight Riders Group, which is led by Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, along with Juhi Chawla & her husband Jay Mehta, will establish their fourth T20 franchise around the world in IPL, CPL, MLC and now in UAE’s T20 league.

    Khan said, “For several years now, we have been expanding the Knight Riders brand globally and closely watching the potential for T20 cricket in the UAE. We are excited about becoming part of UAE’s T20 League, which no doubt will become hugely successful.”

    “The commitment to grow the T20 format and the expertise gathered by the Knight Riders Group, through their involvement in franchise cricket across the world, is undisputed,” commented UAE’s T20 League chairman Khalid Al Zarooni. “We are exceptionally pleased with their foresight to join forces with the UAE’s T20 League and firmly believe it will elevate the reputation, and professionalism of the League throughout the cricket community.”

    “We are pleased with the association of the Knight Riders Group with the League as a franchise team owner, we are very confident that this association will be mutually beneficial for both Knight Riders brand and the League,” said Emirates Cricket Board general secretary Mubashshir Usmani. “UAE’s T20 League will attract some of the biggest names in world cricket while also giving a platform and international exposure to local and upcoming players.”

    “We feel fortunate to have been consistently recognised as a global brand in T20 cricket,” stated KKR, Red Chillies Entertainment CEO Venky Mysore. “As T20 cricket expands around the world, we are flattered by the regular invitations to play a major role in growing the sport across the world. We have had a keen interest in the developments in the UAE and our expansion is consistent with our long-term strategy.”