Indian T20 League side Rajasthan, on Monday, launched their cricket facility based at Reed's School in Surrey, UK.
Partnering with the Star Cricket Academy, the facility will be called the Rajasthan Academy and Shane Warne, who was a part of the team for three years from 2008-11, was at the venue on the day as he took part in the session with the children for the nets.
In October last year, the team had launched their grassroots program in India named Royal Colts for boys and Royal Sparks for girls. And now, they have their base in the UK. As Rajasthan quote, this 'state-of-the-art cricket centre' - named the Jarrett Centre – will run under the guidance of professional batsman Siddharth Lahiri along with his team of international coaches that include Ollie Pope (England and Surrey), Ryan Patel (Under 19 England and Surrey pro), Amar Virdi (Surrey) and Alex Milton (Worcestershire).
Speaking ahead of the launch of the academy, Lead owner Rajasthan, Manoj Badale, said: "Education and sports go hand in hand, which helps in building strong characters and leaders. Rajasthan Academy is a great way to engage the youth, develop talent, and potentially find the stars of the future."
Zubin Bharucha, Head of Cricket, Rajasthan, said: "We have entered into this partnership to engage with the growing cricketing talent in the UK with learnings from the most innovative T20 league in the world. I am very thankful to Sid who shares the same vision as the Royals and agreed to join hands and provide training of the highest quality to budding cricket enthusiasts in the UK."
Two of the biggest names in England cricket – Jos Butler (former) and Ben Stokes (current) – have been associated with the team and this alliance is expected to help the academy in their growth overseas.
Speaking about the academy, Butler added, "I am delighted that Rajasthan are launching an academy in the UK. There is so much talent here and the learnings that can be transferred from the Indian T20 League and Indian cricket, in general, are immense.”
