170 teams across 26 cities to compete for the national championship of Red Bull Campus Cricket 2017

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India, February 23, 2017: After a spectacular season in 2016, Red Bull Campus Cricket returns to bowl over budding cricketers in the country. Taking the competition up one more notch, the global, T20 college cricket tournament has added two new cities to its roster and will witness the highest participation ever with 170 teams across 26 cities.

Taking place from February 27 to the first week of April, the Red Bull Campus Cricket city qualifiers will start simultaneously in Cochin and Hyderabad. Followed by Kolkata, Mumbai, Baroda, Ahmedabad, Pune, Nagpur, Indore and Goa in the West; along with Jalandhar, Delhi, Jaipur, Jammu, Dehradun, Chandigarh, Lucknow in the North; Chennai, Bangalore, Coimbatore, and Vizag in South; and Kolkata, Guwahati, Ranchi, Bhubaneshwar, Patna, Jamshedpur in the East.

The winning college from each city will then proceed to the zonal finals. The top two teams from each zone will then compete in the National finals, where the teams will play in the knockout rounds of quarterfinals, semifinals and finals respectively. The National winner will then represent India in the Red Bull Campus Cricket World Series Championship 2017.

Past winners from India that have gone on to represent the country at the World Championships are Rizvi College, Mumbai; DAV College, Chandigarh; Swami Shraddhanand College, Delhi; and MMC College, Pune.

Red Bull Campus Cricket is the only global T20 cricket tournament for university cricket teams, serving as an international platform for young and budding cricketers to showcase their talent and hone their skills. The tournament is now in its sixth year.

World Champions from last five editions of Red Bull Campus Cricket are below.

Year Winner Venue of World Finals
2016 Business Management School, Colombo Sri Lanka
2015 TuksCricket, University of Pretoria England
2014 TuksCricket, University of Pretoria India
2013 DAV College, Chandigarh Sri Lanka
2012* Rizvi College, Mumbai Sri Lanka

*This was the Asia Cup, a tri-series competition between Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and India not a World Championship

Well known Indian cricketers KL Rahul and Karun Nair have been associated with Red Bull Campus Cricket. Today KL Rahul is among the most highly rated opening batsmen in India’s next generation of cricketers. In his third Test, Karun Nair became India’s second triple-centurion after Virender Sehwag, and only the third man in the game’s history to convert a maiden Test ton into a triple.

At the IPL Auction 2017 on 20th February, known faces from Red Bull Campus Cricket have also made their mark. Shashank Singh was sold to Delhi Daredevils, and young UAE batsman Chirag Suri (Delhi born) will represent Gujarat Lions this year.

Red Bull Campus Cricket is very close to my heart because that is where I think I have revived myself and my cricket” said Kannaur Lokesh Rahul, the top scorer in the Red Bull Campus Cricket Tournament’s India leg in 2013. “I remember I had just come out of an injury and was returning to cricket after 3-4 months. It was Red Bull Campus Cricket at that time that got me back in shape and through this tournament I have found my way up” said the opening batsman of the Indian National Cricket Team

In his message to the young participants of the Red Bull Campus Cricket 2017 City Qualifiers, KL Rahul said “My message is very clear. Go out there and play some tough cricket. You want to win in this sport. And there is a spirit of the game you want to follow, no matter whatever challenge you come up against. So perform to the best of your ability and play good cricket. Red Bull Campus Cricket gives young cricketers a stage to express themselves, and provides a fair idea of the profession as they go higher up