PRESS RELEASE
National, 14 October 2024: Royals Sports Group-owned franchise Rajasthan Royals on Monday announced that their flagship grassroots tournament, the Rajasthan Royals Cricket Cup, has marked its return this past weekend with a grander format which sees participation from more than 1260 girls from over 90 schools covering all the 50 districts of Rajasthan. Returning for its second season, the tournament known as the Rajasthan Royals Cricket Cup 2024 - Inter-School Competition for U-19 Girls, is being played from 11th October to 8th November 2024 across nine major cities of Rajasthan - Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Ajmer, Bikaner, Kota, Bhilwara, Sikar and Banswara.
In line with the franchise's overarching vision of making cricket more inclusive and accessible to the talented girl cricketers in the home state, the competition was first introduced last year which brought more than 700 girls from 50+ schools closer to the sport. This year’s tournament, seeing the continued use of a softer white leather ball, aims to build on the success of last year where Udaipur’s Central Public School had emerged victorious, defeating Kota's Maa Bharti Institute by 10 wickets in the final held in Jaipur.
This year's edition kick-started on Friday with the Division stages for both Bhilwara and Banswara. While Bhilwara had 10 schools competing across two action-packed days at the St. Anselm's Senior Secondary School; Banswara saw participation from seven schools with matches taking place at the Haridev Joshi Cricket Stadium. These knockout matches determined the respective Division winners who advanced to the Finale that takes place in November in Jaipur.
The emergence of the Women's Premier League (WPL) has created a robust platform for women cricketers in India, enabling unprecedented growth for the sport. With greater media attention and investment in women’s cricket, the WPL has empowered young female players to dream bigger. Tournaments like the Rajasthan Royals Cricket Cup are essential to nurturing the next generation of women cricketers and providing them with competitive exposure. Last month, the Royals also associated with WPL's Gujarat Giants team who trained at the Royals High Performance Center in Talegaon, Nagpur.
Jake Lush McCrum, Chief Executive Officer, Rajasthan Royals, highlighted, "We are committed to inspiring and empowering the next wave of women cricketers. With the success of last year’s tournament and the growth of the Women’s Premier League, we are focused on creating more opportunities for young girls to compete in this sport we all love and showcase their talents on a larger stage. This competition reflects our commitment to inclusivity and expanding the game in every corner of Rajasthan."
This weekend's matches saw St. Anselm's Senior Secondary School, Bhilwara and Government Senior Secondary School, Mangaliya Daida become the first two teams to qualify for the Finale stage as they navigated through their respective Divisions. While St. Anselm's beat Government Senior Secondary School, Jindras, Asind in the Bhilwara final, it was Government Senior Secondary School, Mangaliya Daida who defeated St. Paul's Senior Secondary School in the Banswara final.
The competition will now head to Kota starting today with the below schools taking part at the Kautilya Cricket Academy -
- MBI Senior Secondary School
- DAV Public School
- Lawrence & Mayo School
- Sophia Senior Secondary School
- Disha Delphi Public School
- Shiv Jyoti International School
- Vidhya Mandir Senior Secondary School
- Aklank Senior Secondary School
- Maa Bharati Public Senior Secondary School
- New Public School
- Modi Public School
- MGGS Gurnapurai
Following Kota, the competition will proceed to other divisions, with matches scheduled as follows:
- Jodhpur: 20-21 October at BZS School Ground
- Udaipur: 20-21 October at K.T Cricket Academy
- Sikar: 21 October at Green Field
- Ajmer: 22-23 October at D.W.P.S Ground
- Jaipur: 22-23 October at Sanskar Cricket Academy
- Bikaner: 22-23 October at Dharminder Cricket Ground
The Rajasthan Royals' vision of making cricket more inclusive and accessible to talented girl cricketers in Rajasthan has driven the expansion of the tournament to encompass a wider pool of participants who will be rewarded for their performances.
Participants will compete for prestigious awards such as the Pink Cap for Most Runs, the Blue Cap for Most Wickets, and other accolades like Best Catch and Fair Play Award. The tournament champions will receive the coveted trophy and a cash prize, continuing the tradition of encouraging competitive cricket from a young age.
Last year’s competition laid the foundation for future stars, and this year’s expanded format is expected to be an even greater success, further solidifying Rajasthan Royals' commitment to growing women's cricket in Rajasthan and beyond.
