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Tag: RCB

  • Huawei and RCB celebrate the team’s home coming

    Huawei and RCB celebrate the team’s home coming

    MUMBAI: Huawei India, the principal sponsor of the Royal Challengers Bangalore team celebrated the team’s home coming in Bangalore.

     

    The entire team of Royal Challengers Bangalore including the team’s support staff attended the event.

     

    RCB played the first home match in the India leg at the Bangalore home ground, M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on 4 May with another four matches scheduled to be played on its home ground.

     

    Huawei India and RCB had recently unveiled the new RCB team jersey, which features the Huawei logo on the front of the jersey as a principal sponsor of the team. Huawei will also have significant brand exposure around RCB’s home ground, the Chinnaswamy Stadium, along with in-stadium promotional rights. To expand the mutually beneficial contours of this partnership, both partners will shortly launch a series of joint marketing initiatives to engage with their respective fans and consumers across India.

     

    Huawei began its journey in India by establishing its R&D centre in Bangalore. The partnership with Royal Challengers Bangalore hence, reaffirms the brand’s commitment towards India and emanates as homecoming. The core values of Huawei include dedication, continuous improvement, integrity and teamwork, which also define the essence of sportsmanship. With similar core values, this partnership offers a perfect synergy for the values of both partner brands.

  • Tata Motors’ passenger vehicles division is the official car partner for RCB

    Tata Motors’ passenger vehicles division is the official car partner for RCB

    MUMBAI: Tata Motors’ Passenger Vehicles Division today shared details for its association with the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) team as the official car partner. Captained by the super performer, Virat Kohli, the RCB team will see ace players like Yuvraj Singh, Chris Gayle & AB De Villiers, play this season.

     

    To expand the mutually beneficial contours of this partnership, both partners will shortly launch a series of joint initiatives to engage with their customers and RCB enthusiasts across India.

     

    Royal Challengers Bangalore VP, commercial operations & cricket academy Russell Adams said, “We are delighted to partner with Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles and look forward to embarking on some interesting and engaging outreach programs soon”.

     

    Virat Kohli, Captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore said, “It is extremely encouraging to see more and more marquee brands and leading corporates come on board as team partners and the team looks forward to an exciting season ahead.”

     

    Speaking about the partnership, Tata Motors senior VP – sales & marketing passenger vehicles Ankush Arora said “We are happy to associate with a strong team like RCB. Through this association, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Division and RCB have brought their superstars together to offer a unique platform with an objective of engaging with customers and the youth of today around one of the biggest and passionate cricket tournaments, the IPL.”

     

    The current range of Tata Motors’ cars will be used to transport the team players. The BOLT logo features on the leading arm of the jersey as a partner of the team. The BOLT brand will also have significant brand exposure at RCB’s home ground, the Chinnaswamy Stadium, along with in-stadium promotional rights. The RCB team has established themselves as a stylish and cool team and have performed consistently last season. This partnership offers a perfect synergy for the values and attributes both partner brands have in common.

     

    Recently unveiled at the Auto Expo 2014, the BOLT is a sporty hatch engineered for global markets, through global teams across India, UK and Korea, It signifies enthusiasm for life, exudes sense of excitement, anticipation, and sportiness. It will set new standards in the hatch segment and is a true representation of the Horizonext philosophy, with best-in-class offerings. The BOLT showcases the Next in Design, Performance and Infotainment, from Tata Motors. 

  • Indian leg of the IPL to begin from 2 May

    Indian leg of the IPL to begin from 2 May

    MUMBAI: There is good news for Indian cricket fans, who were left disheartened after the news hit that the first 20 matches of this edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will kick-off in UAE.

     

    IPL is set to return to Indian shores on 2 May for the remaining 36 matches, including four play-offs, which will be played in the home-leg.

     

    The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) after having successive discussions with the authorities at home, decided that the IPL can be played at home beginning from 2 May. The first leg of the IPL will be held in UAE from 16 to 30 April due to the general elections in India.

     

    In the home-leg, each franchise will play nine matches and five of the eight teams will be playing at least four matches in their home stadium.

     

    Chennai Super Kings will play two matches at Ranchi, while Kings XI Punjab will play two games at Cuttack. Rajasthan Royals will play four matches at Ahmedabad. There will be no matches on 1 May and 17 May.

     

    The schedule of the UAE leg has also been tweaked to suit the franchises. The evening match slated for 26 April in Abu Dhabi, between Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) and Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), will now be designated as a home match for the Knight Riders and the 28 April match in Dubai, between Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and KXIP, will be designated as a home game for Kings team.

     

    “Following on from the launch of ticket sales for the UAE leg today (3 April), I am pleased that we are now able to confirm the dates for the rest of the season,” said BCCI-IPL interim president Sunil Gavaskar in a press statement.

     

    “It is great news that the fans back home in India will be able to watch a large part of the Pepsi IPL 2014. Given the various challenges and the logistical complexities, we have spent a considerable amount of time in crafting a balanced schedule,” he added.

     

    IPL governing council chairman Ranjib Biswal said, “We are delighted to have the season back in India at the start of May. Organising an event of this scale at multiple venues in two countries is an enormous organisational undertaking and we are very grateful to the Government of India, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the police authorities in the various states for their support.”

     

    Hosting IPL involves elaborate planning on several fronts, logistics included and it is critical that there is surety on the availability of the match venues, for a tournament of this magnitude. The BCCI has tried to work with various franchises and stakeholders to get confirmations to host matches in the cities.

    The Rajasthan Royals have indicated to the BCCI that they are pleased to play their four home matches of the India leg of the 2014 season, at Ahmedabad, to avoid any uncertainty to their home matches. KXIP and CSK will be playing some of their home matches outside Mohali and Chennai respectively, due to non-availability of their home venue, for a large portion of May 2014.

    Looks like the IPL will continue to look at as many venues as possible to play the tournament in forthcoming seasons, and that’s a good sign for smaller states and regions to come to the forefront.

  • IPL 7 auction: The big winners

    IPL 7 auction: The big winners

    MUMBAI: More than Rs 465 crore were spent during the IPL player auctions as the eight franchises gear up for the seventh season of the cash rich tourney – but bargain buys were hardly the headline makers this time around. While that can still change – money was clearly splashed on the big names in Twenty20 cricket. Here’s a list of the players who were bought for a high price in this year’s auction.

     

    Yuvraj Singh (Rs 14 crore to RCB): The naysayers will say that the Punjab lad has gone for a buck too many, but Vijay Mallya seems ecstatic about the inclusion of another marquee T20 player who will add to the firepower of Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle, Ravi Rampaul and AB de Villiers. The key contributer to the World Cup and World T20 winning Team India will add more all-round ability to the team – however, the price tag may prove to be a burden if he fails.

     

    Dinesh Karthik (Rs 12.5 crore to DD): The darkhorse in the auction and clearly being rewarded handsomely for his consistency with the long handle in the middle overs and his daredevilry behind the stumps. It was slightly startling that Mumbai Indians didn’t retain him and Mitchell Johnson or used their ‘Right to Match card – but Karthik is certainly laughing all the way to the bank. With 1,741 runs in 92 IPL games, he may be worth all the moolah.

     

    Kevin Pietersen (Rs 9 crore to DD): KP is cricket’s latest ‘lone ranger’ and he doesn’t have to care about the international calendar anymore. His mere presence in the middle will be unsettling enough for bowlers – but now they’ll have to contend with a fit Pietersen for the whole season.

     

    Mitchell Johnson (Rs 6.5 crore to KXIP): The aussie is out to prove a point, but he lets his pace and swing do the talking for him. Johnson is fast, fearsome and in insane form and is very handy with the bat as well. He will certainly add some stability to a fairly young KXIP squad.

     

    Glenn Maxwell (Rs 6 crore to KXIP): The million dollar man from season 6 continues to be a favourite among the franchises. Though he didn’t get much opportunities in the MI camp last season, his poor showing didn’t deter Kings XI from coughing up the cash. He would certainly want to prove a point and justify his worth. And being an all-rounder will help the franchise.

     

    Jacques Kallis (Rs 5.5 crore to KKR): The old man of cricket is certainly worth every penny paid for his services. He’s 38 but will be the knight in a shining armor for the KKR, hopefully once again. He has a staggering 2,276 runs in 90 IPL matches and a strike-rate of above 100. Complimenting his contribution with the bat are the 61 scalps under his belt.

     

    David Warner (Rs 5.5 crore to SRH): Last year’s surprise package – Sunrisers Hyderabad – has added loose-cannon Warner to their side. They’ll be happy to see that side of him on the pitch though, rather than off it. When he’s in the mood, he can devour the opposition bowlers. Also, he had a cracking IPL 6 – scoring 410 runs in 16 matches. His strike-rate was 126.93.

     

    Robin Uthappa (KKR), Murali Vijay (DD), Michael Hussey (MI) and Mitchell Starc (RCB) – Rs 5 crore each: Uthappa’s value has come down a bit but he’s still handy with that bat and a reliable customer. Vijay’s permanent place in the Indian team guarantees quality and Huseey aka Mr Dependable is never a bad pick. As for Starc, a good fast bowler will always cost good money.

  • IPL 7 auctions: Day 2 begins with uncapped Indian players

    IPL 7 auctions: Day 2 begins with uncapped Indian players

    MUMBAI: After all the action on day one of player auctions for season 7 of the Indian Premiere League (IPL), the day two began with the uncapped Indian cricketers going under the hammer for the first time.

     

    The day 2 will see players with base prices ranging between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 30 lakh being auctioned, with only Michael Klinger (batsman) and Ryan Ten Doeschate (all-rounder) at a base price of Rs 1 crore.

     

    The second day of auctions will also witness the unsold players from yesterday going under the hammer once again in the afternoon session. There are a few names from the unsold lot who would certainly give the franchises some exercise after lunch.

     

    On day one of auctions, nearly 90 odd players were sold to the eight franchises of IPL. The second day may not spring any surprises like on the first day but it will certainly be interesting to see how the franchises go about using their remaining resources to the fullest.

     

    At the time of writing this, Ryan Ten Doeschate was sold at his base price of Rs 1 crore to KKR and the uncapped Indian player to benefit the most was Rishi Dhawan who went to King’s XI Punjab for Rs 3 crore with a base price of Rs 20 lakh. Another Indian player, Kedar Jadhav was bagged for Rs 2 crore by Delhi Daredevils, which used its right to match card against Sun Risers Hyderabad’s bid.

     

    Keep watching this space for more updates.

  • IPL 7 auction: Day 1 – The haves and the have-nots…

    IPL 7 auction: Day 1 – The haves and the have-nots…

    MUMBAI: It was a long and tiring first day of auctions of players for the Indian Premiere League (IPL) season 7. There was a lot of action prior to the lunch break but mostly fizzled out after it resumed for the afternoon session.

     

    Two of the highest bids for the day were made by Delhi Daredevils as they had the deepest pocket – the entire Rs 60 crore – having decided not to retain any of their players from the previous edition.

     

    Delhi Daredevils were the most aggressive making the day’s both the big strategic acquisitions.

     

    Firstly Delhi Daredevils waited for the hammer to come down on Kevin Pietersen and then reclaimed him from Chennai Super Kings at a high price of Rs 9 crore. This was the first ‘Joker Card’ that was used at the auction.

     

    The swords were drawn when Yuvraj’s name came under the hammer, after some frantic bidding and almost being sold in a state of chaos, the final fight was between the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Royal Challengers Banglore. Vijay Mallya had the final say with the highest bid of Rs 14 crore on day one and bag the Punjab boy to play alongside Virat Kohli.

     

    The other overseas player who was sold for a high price was Mitchel Johnson for Rs 6.5 crore to King’s XI Punjab, and Mumbai Indians declined to use its right to match card for the Aussie fast bowler.

     

    The biggest surprise of the day was Delhi Daredevil’s big bet on Dinesh Karthik at a whopping Rs 12.5 crore. The move would have certainly been made on the back of his stupendous showing in the 2013 season. Here again the Mumbai camp declined to use its right to match card.

     

    On day one, a lot of players who went under the hammer saw themselves moving to new teams. A lot of players still went unsold because of either dearth of funds or in anticipation of bagging bigger players on day two. Any which ways, the players who remained unsold today will again go under the hammer tomorrow.

     

    Teams at the end of Day 1 of Pepsi IPL Player auctions:

     

    Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Faf du Plessis, Brendon McCullum, Dwayne Smith, Ashish Nehra, Mohit Sharma, Samuel Badree, Ben Hilfenhaus, Matt Henry.

     

    Budget left: Rs2.9 crore. Squad Strength: 13. Overseas Players: 7.

     

    Delhi Daredevils: M Vijay, Kevin Pietersen, Dinesh Karthik, JP Duminy, Manoj Tiwary, Quinton de Kock, Mohammad Shami, Rahul Sharma, Saurabh Tiwary, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jaydev Unadkat, James Neesham.

     

    Budget left: Rs8.6 crore. Squad Strength: 13. Overseas Players: 5.

     

    Kings XI Punjab: David Miller, Manan Vohra, Virender Sehwag, Mitchell Johnson, George Bailey, Cheteshwar Pujara, Shaun Marsh, Wriddhaman Saha, Thisara Perera, Glenn Maxwell, L Balaji, Parvinder Awan.

     

    Budget left: Rs14.2 crore. Squad Strength: 12. Overseas Players: 6.

     

    Kolkata Knight Riders: Gautam Gambhir, Sunil Narine, Jacques Kallis, Robin Uthappa, Yusuf Pathan, Shakib Al Hasan, Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar, Morne Morkel, Piyush Chawla.

     

    Budget left: Rs9 crore. Squad Strength: 10. Overseas Players: 4.

     

    Mumbai Indians: Rohit Sharma, Lasith Malinga, Kieron Pollard, Harbhajan Singh, Ambati Rayudu, Michael Hussey, Zaheer Khan, Pragyan Ojha, Corey Anderson, Josh Hazlewood.

     

    Budget left: Rs5.15 crore. Squad Strength: 10. Overseas Players: 5.

     

    Rajasthan Royals: Shane Watson, Ajinkya Rahane, James Faulkner, Stuart Binny, Sanju Samson, Brad Hodge, Steve Smith, Abhishek Nayar, Ben Cutting, Kane Richardson, Tim Southee.

     

    Budget left: Rs12.1 crore. Squad Strength: 11. Overseas Players: 7.

     

    Royal Challengers Bangalore: Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers, Yuvraj Singh, Parthiv Patel, Albie Morkel, Mitchell Starc, Ashok Dinda, Ravi Rampaul, Muttiah Muralitharan, Nic Maddinson, Varun Aaron.

     

    Budget left: Rs1.8 crore. Squad Strength: 12. Overseas Players: 7.

     

    Sunrisers Hyderabad: Shikhar Dhawan, Dale Steyn, David Warner, Darren Sammy, Amit Mishra, Aaron Finch, Irfan Pathan, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Brendan Taylor, Moises Henriques, Venugopal Rao, Jason Holder.

     

    Budget left: Rs8.4 crore. Squad Strength: 13. Overseas Players: 7.

     

  • IPL season 7 auction kicks off with a bang

    IPL season 7 auction kicks off with a bang

    MUMBAI: The stage is set for history to be rewritten. This time around the maximum number of players will be going under the hammer with 514 players in the pool – 219 capped players (169 Indians / 50 overseas) and 292 uncapped players (255 Indians / 37 overseas).

     

    IPL’s official auctioneer Richard Madley says: “The first IPL auction in Mumbai which was held just six years ago but feels like it was held 600 years ago, no one knew what would go down on that day at the Oberoi hotel; it was a historic day for cricket and in my point of view an historic day for auctioning. Today is going to be no different in Bengaluru”

     

    This year’s auction witnessed a full house of the regulars from the franchises. The likes of Ness Wadia and Priety Zinta from the Kings XI Punjab camp; Tom Moody, VVS Laxman and Krishnamachari Srikkanth from Sunrisers Hyderabad; Kolkata Knight Riders is present in full strength with CEO Venky Mysore, Jay Mehta and Juhi Chawla.

     

    Royal Challengers Banglore owner Vijay Mallya was seen sporting a cool Mohawk hairstyle and was beaming after getting Yuvraj Singh for his team for a whopping Rs 14 crore, the highest bid in the morning session.

     

    Mumbai Indians is represented by Nita Ambani and Anil Kumble, Rajhastan Royals has Rahul Dravid at the table along with the team management.

     

    The ones missing from the auction this time are Rajasthan Royals’ Raj Kundra and Shilpa Shetty and CSK’s Gurunath Meiyappan after being in the news for all the wrong reasons.

     

    This is the first time uncapped Indian players have earned a spot on the auction list. Also, until last year, auctions were done in dollars. Beginning this year until 2017, all auctions will be carried out in Indian rupees. The cap on players’ cumulative salary has got reduced to Rs 60 crore this year from Rs 75 crore. Though the highest base price of players will continue to be at Rs 2 crore ($400,000 last year).

     

    This year’s auction also witnesses franchises exercise the right to match a bid, or use the joker card. Under this provision, a franchise can bid for a player who was in its squad in 2013, but wasn’t retained subsequently. The number of joker cards available with the team depends on the number of players retained – if a team doesn’t retain a single player, it can exercise the right to match three times. If a team retains five players, it can exercise it just once.

     

    Delhi Daredevils, which hasn’t retained any of its existing players, is certainly going to be the most aggressive. Most other teams have retained at least a couple of in-form players. The Delhi franchise has the entire salary amount of Rs 60 intact.

  • CSK & RCB have the most loyal fan base across IPL teams: Ormax Trac20

    CSK & RCB have the most loyal fan base across IPL teams: Ormax Trac20

    Mumbai: A sizeable and loyal fan base is critical to the business plans of any sporting club or franchise. According to the findings of Ormax Trac20, a syndicated research being conducted by Ormax Media during the sixth edition of IPL, Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) have the most sizeable base of loyal fans in their respective markets, given them an advantage over the other teams in the league.

    While CSK led the loyalty chart even in the pre-phase of the research conducted before the IPL started in March, RCB have shown a significant increase in their loyalty score during this edition of the tournament. Kolkata Knight Riders are a close no. 3, followed by Mumbai Indians at no. 4.

    Commenting on the results, Shailesh Kapoor, CEO – Ormax Media, said: "Team loyalty is important for advertisers, as sponsoring a team that has a higher loyal fan base will lead to a higher marketing ROI. In our understanding, three factors contribute to team loyalty: consistency of performance, star players and team stability over years. CSK have a huge advantage across these three factors."

    The Ormax Trac20 research is being conducted across 11 cities, in three phases, with a total sample size of 9,000. The research is targeted at advertisers considering IPL or cricket in their marketing plans. The research is tracking the performance of the various brands advertising during this year's IPL, both in terms of recall and effectiveness.