Ahmedabad, Jan 17 (IANS): The Adani Sportsline-owned Gulf Giants, a franchise in the International League (IL) T20, have announced a partnership with two cricket training centres -- Swantons Cricket Academy and Smashing Point Sports Academy (SPSA) -Raise Your Game -- in Dubai, UAE. This is the first time that Adani Sportsline has collaborated with cricket academies in the Middle East.

Through this partnership, the Adani Sportsline aims to strengthen the Gulf Giants’ presence in the region by engaging with the players trained at the academies, their families, coaches, and other cricket enthusiasts. The collaboration will include exclusive branding and fan engagement activities, and player visits, and will create opportunities for promising athletes to participate in Gulf Giants’ practice sessions as net players.

Gulf Giants players, who are part of the ongoing ILT20 Season 3, visited the academies recently and interacted with the children. While English wicketkeeper-batter Ollie Robinson and the team’s batting coach Grant Flower visited SPSA, Namibian allrounder Gerhard Erasmus and coach Ottis Gibson spent time at the Swantons Cricket Academy.

Soon, Adani Sportline will organise a tournament named “Little Giants" and several schools across the UAE will take part in it, informed a release on Friday.

“The partnership with the academies is a pivotal step towards unlocking the true potential of talent in the UAE. The ‘Little Giants’ tournament is another initiative that will help us create pathways for young cricketers. We wish to reinforce our mission of making cricket an inclusive and thriving sport across communities while continuing to expand our global footprint,” Sanjay Adesara, Chief Business Officer (CBO), Adani Sportsline, said.

Speaking about the partnership, Zameer Sulaiman, Senior Manager, Swantons Cricket Academy, said, “We are delighted to partner with the Gulf Giants and be part of the Adani Sportsline family. Their expertise will be invaluable for our ambitions to give young players a platform to hone their skills, grow in their careers, and achieve their full potential.”

Sony Cheruvathur, Director, SPSA, said, “We are proud to have joined hands with one of the most successful teams, Gulf Giants, in UAE’s top-tier league, ILT20. Their support further strengthens UAE’s cricketing ecosystem, and we will collaborate to develop cricket at the grassroots level.”