Hyderabad Heroes among six franchisees in the first-ever rugby league to commence from June 1

The other franchises in the fray include Manipal Education and Medical Group, InCred, Soham Energy-owned Bengaluru Bravehearts, AVIDSYS Sports-owned Chennai Bulls, RMZ’s Delhi Redz, Hutch Ventures-owned Kalinga Black Tigers, and the Dream 11-owned Mumbai Dreamers

HYDERABAD: KLO Sports’ Hyderabad Heroes is one of the six founding franchisees in the Rugby Premier League, organised by the GMR and the Indian Rugby Football Union and commencing from June 1, and this happens to be the first-ever franchise-based league in the world.

The city-based franchisee picked James Christie, Max Roddick, Fong Fung, Luciano Rizzoni, Joji Nasova, Manuel Asensi, Terio Veilawa, and Regan Ware at the draft. And later on, went shopping for Prince Khatri (Rs 3.75 Lakh), Sumit Roy (Rs 1.25 Lakh), Javed Hussein (Rs 90,000), Sukumar Hembrom (Rs 60,000), and Sambit Pradhan (Rs 50,000) after going through the Player Draft and Auction which saw a few intense bidding wars, as they went onto pick their squad of 13.

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The other franchises in the fray include Manipal Education and Medical Group, InCred, Soham Energy-owned Bengaluru Bravehearts, AVIDSYS Sports-owned Chennai Bulls, RMZ’s Delhi Redz, Hutch Ventures-owned Kalinga Black Tigers, and the Dream 11-owned Mumbai Dreamers.

The RPL’s grand final on June 15 at the Andheri Sports Complex in Mumbai, after 34 matches, provides Indian players a great platform to rub shoulders with some of the most elite rugby players and coaches from across the world.

“The Rugby Premier League marks a pivotal moment in our mission to elevate rugby in India. By showcasing a vibrant mix of international and Indian talent, and with the unwavering support of our franchise owners, this league is poised to redefine the future of the sport,” said Satyam Trivedi, CEO, GMR Sports.

“We believe that the RPL will not only captivate a wider audience but also provide Indian players with invaluable opportunities to compete alongside the world’s best, thereby raising the standard of rugby in our country,” he said.

Rahul Bose, President of the Indian Rugby Football Union, said the league was the culmination of six years’ efforts. “The first extraordinary development came thanks to World Rugby, who gave us a 15-day window in which no international rugby 7s would be played anywhere in the world and JioHotstar will be the broadcast partner,” he said.