The Indian Premier League (IPL) Governing Council (GC) on Thursday announced RuPay, the flagship product of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), as an official partner for of the cash-rich league, which will begin on March 26.
The deal between the two sides will be a multi-year partnership.
Notably, RuPay is the first-of-its-kind Global Card payment network from India, providing an exceptional self-reliant card payments network with innovative features that have made it a successful interoperable card. RuPay is widely accepted at ATMs, POS devices, and e-commerce websites.
Commenting on the association, IPL Chairman Brijesh Patel said: “We are pleased to have RuPay on board as an official partner of the Indian Premier League 2022. This association of IPL and RuPay, the flagship product of NPCI, brings together two of India’s best homegrown brands and is set to create a huge impact on millions of Indians across the globe, encouraging digital payments adoption in a faster and seamless manner.”
On the other side, Praveena Rai, Chief Operating Officer, NPCI said: “We are delighted to partner with the BCCI for one of the most celebrated sports leagues – Indian Premier League. We believe RuPay resonates well with IPL as both brands are bringing India together. Just like IPL provides high voltage entertainment to all Indian cricket lovers, RuPay offers tech-led, innovative, and customized offerings to people across the country, being accepted in India and internationally.”
“With RuPay’s venture into IPL as the official partner, we feel it is one of the best ways to define the tech-savvy, youthful, contemporary brand personality of RuPay,” he added.
Significantly, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) was incorporated in 2008 as an umbrella organization for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India. NPCI has created a robust payment and settlement infrastructure in the country. It has changed the way payments are made in India through a bouquet of retail payment products such as RuPay card, Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM), BHIM Aadhaar, National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC Fastag) and Bharat BillPay.
Notably, the upcoming IPL season will be held entirely in the state of Maharashtra with 55 matches in Mumbai and 15 matches in Pune.
Notably, a total of 70 league matches will be played across four international-standard venues in Mumbai and Pune — Wankhede Stadium and DY Patil Stadium to host 20 matches each, while Brabourne Stadium and MCA International Stadium, Pune will host 15 matches each.
The 2022 season will be played in a bio-secure environment at a single hub to avoid air travel, considered as a major threat for the spread of COVID-19 infection, thereby affecting the players and tournament.
While 55 matches are scheduled to be held in Mumbai, the remaining 15 games will be staged in Pune while the playoffs’ venues haven’t been decided yet. Is most likley that the Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad will stage the playoffs however, no official announcement has been made yet.
In the upcoming season, the 10 teams have been divided into two groups. While Group A comprises of Mumbai Indians, Kolkata Knight Riders, Rajasthan Royals, Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants, Group B includes Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Punjab Kings and Gujarat Titans.
From this year onwards, the lucrative league will be a ten-team affair following the addition of the two new teams – Ahmedabad and Lucknow and will have a total of 74 games.