Delhi Capitals co-owner says they are 'capable' of running Rugby league
Rugby Premier League is coming soon. It will start from June 15 to 29 at Mumbai Football Arena. Six franchises will participate. Satyam Trivedi says the league has great potential. The format is Rugby 7s with tweaked rules for TV audience. International marquee players will earn USD 15,000. Indian players will earn between Rs 50,000 to Rs 550,000.
Tired of too many ads?
Remove Ads
Tired of too many ads?
Remove Ads
Tired of too many ads?
Remove Ads
Rugby might rank low in the popularity charts of India's sporting landscape but it has tremendous potential to garner eyeballs with the upcoming Rugby Premier League (RPL), feels GMR Sports CEO and the event's promoter Satyam Trivedi The inaugural RPL will be held from June 15 to 29 at the Mumbai Football Arena in Andheri featuring six franchises Delhi Redz, Hyderabad Heroes, Kalinga Black Tigers, Chennai Bulls, Mumbai Dreamers and Bengaluru Bravehearts.Trivedi, who has considerable experience of running multiple IPL franchises, including the GMR co-owned Delhi Capitals, told PTI about the rationale behind the group becoming a driving force in organising the inaugural edition of Rugby Premier League."We thought that we've been managing this business for a very long time. And I think of the scale of managing an IPL team, you can imagine is one of the largest properties, and we've developed capabilities internally," Trivedi said."So idea was that, why don't we leverage our experience, our expertise, and move up the value chain and look at opportunities outside franchise. So when this opportunity came, obviously it started with a franchise conversation."But we just took one day to go back and say that not at a franchise level, but we want to invest at a League level," he recalled when asked about how it all started.The format will be Rugby 7s, which is recognised as an Olympic sport.Unlike traditional Rugby Union format where there are two halves of 40 minutes each with 15 players per side, the 7s is a format where there are seven players on field with two halves of 7 minutes.However in RPL, keeping the TV audience in mind, it has been tweaked to four quarters of four minutes each with two-minute break between quarters.Trivedi underlined why he thought the league can work in the long run."It's a shorter format and we think it works very well. Because if you look at the consumer pattern...They want to look at shorter format. The attention span has drastically gone down."We had to keep that in mind. So we think that this is a great on-ground as well as television product. That's one reason to hold the league," he reasoned."Secondly, Rugby India is a great Federation to work with. They are very committed. (Actor) Rahul Bose, who is the president of Rugby India, is also very committed towards the development of sport. Today, there are 250 districts in India where rugby is played," he added.Trivedi also gave a peek into the kind of money marquee players will be getting for the two-week tourney."International marquee player coming here for two weeks and one week of camp or maybe 10 days of camp, they would get about USD 15,000. The bridge players (from Tier-2 Rugby Nations) will be getting around USD 5000."The Indian players will be paid between Rs 50,000 to Rs 550,000."The salary cap was kept at Rs 70 lakh per team," he informed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
4 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
Ravi Shastri gobsmacked watching India youngster bat, immediately asked 'Who's this bloke?', told selectors 'get him in'
During his time as India's head coach, Ravi Shastri unearthed quite a few gems. Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, Prithvi Shaw, T Natarajan, Washington Sundar, Shubman Gill to name a few. Even Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah made their Test debuts, as did Mayank Agarwal, Hanuma Vihari and Karun Nair. Unfortunately, many of these names faded away. Some slipped down in the pecking order, such as Mayank and Vihari, and even Pandya, whose body gave up on him, denying the rigours of playing all three formats. The ones who did make it, though, were Gill and Bumrah – one became world cricket's greatest pacer, the other India's Test captain. Ravi Shastri recalls being blown away watching the Indian youngster bat.(AFP) A lot of players come every now and then, but very rarely does a young cricketer emerge who captivates the imagination like no one else. Indian cricket has been divided into heroes over the last five decades. From Sunil Gavaskar, the baton passed to Sachin Tendulkar, then Virat Kohli, and, if the hype is to be believed, now Gill. India's newly crowned Test captain, Gill, started off the tour of England on a blazing note, scoring a defiant half-century when India had lost two wickets in two overs before lunch. An elated Shastri, in the commentary box, seemed over the moon watching one of his discoveries on the fast track to success. Also Read: India vs England Live Score, 1st Test Day 1 Watching Gill thrive, Shastri's mind harked back to 2018, when an 18-year-old Gill was sweating it as part of India's Under-19 squad. Gill was the Player of the tournament as India won the Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand seven years ago. The former India head coach recalled being blown away watching Gill and urged the BCCI not to waste time in giving him a chance with the senior team. That is when Gill made a lot of heads turn. He just seemed to have time, more than anyone else, as he bludgeoned through the likes of Pakistan and Australia. Also Read: Sai Sudharsan's woeful shot to get out for a duck on debut leaves Gautam Gambhir distraught "He's got the flair, he's got the game. And he's not the kind who changes his approach because it comes naturally to him. There's no doubting his talent. When he came on the scene, everyone knew that here's a player who's going to be around for a decade. There's no doubt about that. I remember seeing him for the first time when I was the coach and he was batting in the nets. He came out to bat and I went to the other coaches and said 'Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Who is this bloke? Get him in." Gill's India debut About a year later, Gill made his India debut during an ODI series in New Zealand, just a couple of months before the 2019 World Cup. Gill then made his Test debut in the Boxing Day Test match against Australia at the MCG and scored an unbeaten 48 as India completed a famous win after their infamous 36 all out in Adelaide. "He had that regal element about him. Just the way he played, and the shots he possessed. Especially against the quicks and the bouncing ball. He started off well during the Under-19 World Cup when Rahul [Dravid] was the coach. And just came through the ranks nicely," added Shastri. It's a challenge in itself when someone comes through, and everyone says this is the future of the country. More so in India, where expectations go through the roof. For all the pieces of the puzzle, Gill seems to have come through nicely. Having made it in the ODIs, he's now grinding it out in Test set-up.
Hindustan Times
6 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
'Meri aadat hai josh mein aane ki': Yashasvi Jaiswal requests captain Shubman Gill to stop him mid-innings
Yashasvi Jaiswal is just 23. The mature way he conducts himself as India's Test opener may give even the most experienced batters a run for their money but the left-hander from Bhadohi is still in his early days as an international cricketer. It's good to know that he is aware of that. On Day 1 of the India vs England Test match at Headingley in Leeds, Jaiswal requested his captain Shubman Gill to keep his excitement of running risky singles in check. India's Shubman Gill with Yashasvi Jaiswal(Action Images via Reuters) It happened in the second ball of the 38th over when Jaiswal, after hitting a boundary off the first ball of the over from Chris Woakes, wanted to take a quick single off the next ball. It was clearly not on, and Gill was loud and clear with his "no" call. Jaiswal realised his mistake and told his captain to keep saying no to him as he has a habit of taking unnecessary risky singles. "Mujhko bolte rehna (Please keep telling me 'no' for risky singles) Meri adaat hai, josh josh mein aane ki (I have a habit of getting over excited)," he could be heard telling Gill in between deliveries. The Indian opener was batting on 57 then. IND vs ENG Live Score Day 1 1st Test Jaiswal would go on to hit two more boundaries in the remaining four balls of the same over. His partnership with Gill was slowly but surely putting India back in the position of strength that they were in the morning session, before two quick wickets of KL Rahul (42) and debutant Sai Sudharsan (0) at the stroke of lunch brought England back in the game. India could ill afford a run out at that moment, especially when Gill was scoring almost at a run-a-ball and Jaiswal was maintaining a steady tempo, putting the loose deliveries away to the fence. Yashasvi Jaiswal Silences Critics with Composed Knock Electing to bowl first may have seemed a brave call by Ben Stokes, but the decision quickly came under scrutiny as the Indian openers, led by an assured Yashasvi Jaiswal, capitalised on a batting-friendly surface to lay a strong foundation. After a patchy run in the pre-tour matches with India A, Yashasvi Jaiswal stepped up when it mattered most, showcasing maturity and technical clarity in his first major innings of the tour. The left-hander, known for his aggressive intent, tempered his instincts beautifully to counter England's erratic pace attack. Displaying sound judgment outside off-stump and a willingness to leave deliveries in the corridor, Jaiswal looked like a player keen to prove his red-ball credentials. His innings began with a statement—an elegant drive through mid-off off Chris Woakes that set the tone for a session punctuated by crisp timing and intelligent strokeplay. Jaiswal's driving was a highlight, punishing England's tendency to overpitch. He also rotated strike effectively, ensuring the scoreboard kept ticking without undue risk.
Indian Express
6 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Will not release aircraft for service ‘where there is any doubt', Air India CEO tells staff
Air India has voluntarily decided to continue with enhanced pre-flight checks and will not release any aircraft for service 'where there is any doubt', the Tata group airline's CEO Campbell Wilson wrote in a message to the carrier's employees a week after the deadly crash of an Air India Boeing 787-8 aircraft in Ahmedabad. Wilson also reiterated that Air India is cooperating completely in the air crash investigation as it is 'vital that the facts, whatever they may be, are known'. Wilson also said that even though a tragic crash has taken place, Air India's ambition on all counts, including safety and quality, stays the same, 'if not higher than before'. He also assured staff that Air India continues to have the full support of both its shareholders—Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines. 'We have completed the additional precautionary checks on our operating Boeing 787 fleet as requested by the DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation), who have publicly declared that they meet required standards. We have also, as a matter of abundant precaution, voluntarily decided to continue additional pre-flight checks for the time being. Where there is any doubt, we will not release aircraft—of any type—for service,' Wilson told staff. An Air India Boeing 787-8 aircraft—operating flight AI171 from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, crashed moments after take-off last Thursday. The ill-fated aircraft had 242 people on board, but only one survived the accident. There were several casualties on the ground as well. This was the worst aviation disaster involving an Indian airline in at least four decades, and the first-ever crash of the Boeing 787 anywhere in the world. The crash is being investigated by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB). 'This has been a tragic event and we will learn whatever we can from it so that we are stronger in future. However, our aim in every respect, be it safety, quality, service, scale, reach, professionalism or any other dimension, remains the same if not higher than before,' Wilso said. The Air India CEO also dismissed speculation that Air India management was absent at the last rites of the crew of the doomed flight, assuring employees that the airline had 'senior representation' at each service. 'You may have read social media commentary on the perceived lack of visibility of Air India at the services held for our colleagues. I can assure you that we have had senior representation at each and every one. We are, however, taking care that our presence does not cause disruption at a time so important for families and loved ones, as a matter of respect,' he stated. Wilson said that he had met many Air India staff members who had some similar questions about the crash. In his communication to staff on Friday, the Air India CEO attempted to answer some of those. 'There are many theories (about why the aircraft crashed) but, as the accident is now under official investigation by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, it is not appropriate for us to comment or speculate. We are providing all information requested by the AAIB and are cooperating completely. It is vital that the facts, whatever they may be, are known so that we and the industry at large can learn from them,' Wilson said. On the question of when the investigation report is expected, Wilson said: 'This is completely up to the AAIB. The final report can take many months, though the AAIB may choose to issue interim updates or reports. If there is any discovery during the investigation that suggests airlines or suppliers need to change something urgently, we have confidence that such information would be shared quickly. For our part, we will be transparent with what is shared with us'. Wilson also reiterated that Air India and the Tata group will continue supporting the families of victims 'long after the work in Ahmedabad is done for'. 'This is equally true for those of our colleagues, who we will support in the same way. We are also supporting those staff who have served in Ahmedabad upon their return to base with a mandatory break and counselling. The counselling services, which are confidential and provided by professionals, continue to be available to everyone and I encourage you to avail of it,' Wilson said. Sukalp Sharma is a Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express and writes on a host of subjects and sectors, notably energy and aviation. He has over 13 years of experience in journalism with a body of work spanning areas like politics, development, equity markets, corporates, trade, and economic policy. He considers himself an above-average photographer, which goes well with his love for travel. ... Read More
