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The 14th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) takes off on April 9 and will continue till May 30. With the cricket frenzy catching up, online gaming companies have rolled up their sleeves to promote their platforms with famous sports legends in the mix.
Cricket-centric fantasy gaming portal My11Circle has onboarded Indian test cricket team vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane as a brand ambassador. Rahane is the fifth brand ambassador on the brand’s roster and joins My11Circle a month after VVS Laxman.
Making a similar move, fast-growing online rummy platform Rummy Culture has onboarded several sporting icons for its “Champions” campaign. Cricketing legend Harbhajan Singh headlines the campaign also endorsed by other sports stars like Mahesh Bhupathi, Abhinav Bindra, and Pankaj Advani. They will be seen in digital campaigns and full films underlining the campaign’s “Champions yahan bhi bante hain, Rummy Culture, Champions ka culture” theme to promote rummy as a skill game.
Simultaneously, Mobile Premier League (MPL) has roped in tennis icon Leander Paes and wrestler Geeta Phogat for its national print and TV campaign “Maidan Naya, Khelo Wohi” that aims to promote eSports.
Cricket is in the air, and fantasy gaming platform My11Circle wants to cash in on the IPL hype by roping in star cricketing icon Indian Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane as its latest brand ambassador.
Rahane is the fifth cricketer to endorse the brand alongside Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly, Australian cricketer Shane Watson, Afghanistan`s leg-spinner Rashid Khan and former Indian batsman VVS Laxman. Rahane`s signing comes precisely a month after VVS Laxman was brought on board.
In his official statement on the signing, Rahane said, “I am really excited to partner with My11Circle that offers a truly personalised game experience to fantasy sports enthusiasts.”
He underlined that fantasy cricket has gained immense popularity amongst cricket fans. “The passion and love of cricket fans for the sport is the biggest strength of the game…I am delighted to collaborate with a brand, which is committed to making cricket fans feel special,” he added.
My11Circle was launched on January 19, 2019, by Play Games 24×7 – the parent company of leading rummy brand, RummyCircle. The brand signed on Saurav Ganguly as its brand ambassador the same year, in May.
Rahane’s appointment is an aptly timed move by the brand ahead of the start of the IPL season on April 9. The VP of My11Circle, Saroj Panigrahi, commenting on the new collaboration, said, “As we prepare for yet another exciting cricket season, we are delighted to welcome Ajinkya Rahane – one of the coolest and most courageous batsmen in international cricket, to the My11Circle family.”
Ahead of the cricket season, Rummy Culture has launched it’s “Champions” campaign featuring several notable sports personalities, including cricket legend Harbhajan Singh.
Rummy Culture has signed up the former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh as a brand ambassador for this campaign to break the taboo surrounding the card game. The campaign slogan, “Champions yahan bhi bante hain, Rummy Culture, Champions ka culture,” aims to promote rummy as a skill game.
The GamesKraft-owned portal aims to propagate the idea of bringing rummy at par with other competitive sports and move it out of the ambit of gambling.
Speaking on the launch of the campaign, Amit Kushwaha – Head Brand Strategy – Gameskraft, said, “At Rummy Culture our constant endeavor has been to change the way rummy is perceived. We want to debunk myths surrounding the sport, make it accessible and foster a community of professional rummy players and encourage more players to sign up. We are the only ISO 9001:2015 certified gaming platform, which ensures a safe, and secure gaming ecosystem for our players.
“Our aim is to give every player a premium and hassle-free rummy-playing experience on our website, android, and iOS Apps. Through this campaign, we are trying to bring Rummy equal to other sports & move out of the space of gaming. Rummy also requires skills like focus, concentration, practice, quick thinking, strategic thinking, and planning as any other game.”
Sharing his views on the campaign, Singh said, “It is great to be a part of this campaign. Introducing sports is always a pleasure and bringing yet another sporting activity to the people is exciting. Rummy Culture, the app is intuitive and easy to use which in turn changes the entire gaming experience and makes it more engaging.”
The campaign includes full films featuring the four sporting icons drawing parallels with key skills required to be a champion in their field and on the rummy table. Besides Singh, the campaign features sporting legends from India’s favorite sports, such as tennis ace Mahesh Bhupathi, Olympic Gold Medalist Abhinav Bindra, and World Billiards and Snooker champion Pankaj Advani.
Check out Harbhajan Singh’s segment of the “Champions” campaign in the video below.
Bengaluru-based Mobile Premier League (MPL) has raised a whopping $95 Million (~₹691 Crores) in a Series D funding round led by Composite Capital and Moore Strategic Ventures last month.
With the missive to raise awareness on esports, the platform has recently launched a national print and TV campaign called “Maidan Naya, Khelo Wohi” with Tennis icon Leander Paes and wrestler Geeta Phogat as its star campaigners.
Paes is an Olympic medallist and multiple Grand Slam winner, while Phogat is a Commonwealth Games gold medallist. The two celebrity sportsmen will be seen in six short films, showcasing the skills, talent, and practice needed for succeeding in esports. All films have been conceptualized and scripted by MPL’s in-house creative team.
The Co-founder and CEO of MPL, Sai Srinivas, gave more details. “The aim of this campaign is to unleash the power of Esports and bring it on par with physical sports. Esports today are accessible to all due to the availability of data and affordable devices thus making it easy for more people to participate. This growth needs to be supplemented with solid regulations and government support,” he said.
Talking about the campaign, Paes said, “With the “Maidan naya, khel wohi” campaign, we aim to carry forward the same ethos of practice, training, and skill, in the arena of esports, and get us some new champions to make the nation proud at the global stage. I am glad to partner with MPL on a campaign that talks about the potential and importance of esports in the country.”
The campaign also focuses on responsible gaming and a safe environment for gaming and game developers.
Phogat also lent her support for esports – “What is especially heartening to me is that esports is democratic at its core and is accessible to all. The next Olympian can come from any part of India. With ‘Maidan naya, khel wohi’, we aim to increase participation across categories.”
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