Rajasthan Royals to host at least two IPL 2020 matches in Guwahati

Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Rajasthan Royals have said that they will play at least two of their home games in the IPL 2020 at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati, Assam. This will be the first time that IPL will be played in the North-East area of the country since it was introduced in 2008.

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Rajasthan Royals owner Manoj Badale said that the team will play two of their home fixtures in Guwahati. 

Devajit Lon Saikia, who is the secretary of the Assam Cricket Association (ACA), said that the Rajasthan Royals had earlier requested the BCCI to allow them to play some of their home matches in Guwahati and the Committee of Administrators (CoA) had approved their request on 13 August. 

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Rajasthan Royals will at least play two games in Guwahati: ACA Secretary

He added that the approval was placed and accepted by the IPL Governing Council on Tuesday which is chaired by former India batsman Brijesh Patel at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai. On being asked about the possibility of an increase in the number of matches that were to be played in Guwahati, the secretary said that Royals were willing to play a maximum of three matches but the ACA also had to take into consideration the logistical aspects. He assured that Royals would play at least two matches in Guwahati.

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The Barsapara Stadium hosted its first T20 international between India and Australia in 2017. It also hosted an ODI between India and West Indies in October last year.

In the last edition of the IPL, Guwahati's Riyan Parag performed extremely well for the Royals. Saikia confirmed that the ACA had also approved the Royals request to set up a cricket academy in Assam, which will be the third Royals' cricket academy.

Sakia added that the Royals had a couple of academies in different cities and were set to open their third academy in collaboration with the ACA in Guwahati around January.

The ACA is also preparing to host an international T20I between India and Sri Lanka on January 5.

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