IPL 2020: Rajasthan Royals Name Shane Warne As Mentor And Brand Ambassador

Ahead of this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL), Rajasthan Royals have appointed their former captain Shane Warne as the mentor and the brand ambassador. Incidentally, the announcement came on the former Australia spinner’s 51st birthday.

Shane Warne would now join his compatriot and head coach Andrew McDonald in Royals’ backroom staff. The Rajasthan-based outfit would be hoping that their fortunes change with the arrival of their former player. In the inaugural season of IPL in 2008, Shane Warne had led the team to the title against all the odds.

Since then, the Royals have not managed to make it to the final while entering the playoffs only thrice in the last eleven seasons. Last year, they finished seventh in the eight-team competition after managing just 5 wins in 14 games.

“On my dual role, it’s always a great feeling to be back with Royals, my team, my family. It’s exciting to be working across all elements of this franchise that I love. We have worked towards our vision of becoming a global team that fans around the world love and follow,” Shane Warne was quoted as saying in a press release.

“This season I am looking forward to working as a Team Mentor and joining up with an excellent backroom staff in Zubin Bharucha and Andrew McDonald. Hopefully, we can have a successful season and achieve big things in the coming months,” he added.

? Welcome back, Warnie. ?

Birthday boy @shanewarne joins the side as our mentor & brand ambassador for #IPL2020. ?#HallaBol | #RoyalsFamily pic.twitter.com/rBJKKPsZDC

— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) September 13, 2020

On the appointment of the legendary spinner, franchise COO Jake Lush McCrum expressed his delight while lavishing praise on him

“He is one of the all-time greats of the game and is very special to us here at Rajasthan Royals. Shane is someone who exemplifies our vision of driving innovation and we’re delighted to have him with us supporting both the growth of our franchise globally, while also motivating our players for success on the field,” said McCrum.

IPL 2020 is scheduled to get underway on September 19. On the other hand, Royals will open their campaign on September 22 against three-time champions Chennai Super Kings.

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