MUMBAI: Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Rajasthan Royals and the DSC Jaipur Literature Festival have announced a partnership for the 2013 edition of the festival which is scheduled at Jaipur‘s Diggi Palace from 24 January 2013.

As part of the association, on the eve of the festival, a friendly cricket match will be played between teams comprising reputed authors, Rajasthan Royals management and some of the local players. The ‘Authors XI‘ versus ‘Royals Management XI‘ match will be held in the Rajasthan capital, home to the Royals, on 23 January between 2 and 5 pm.

The Authors XI team includes names such as Richard Beard, Sam Carter, Nicholas Hogg, James Holland, Tom Holland, Anthony McGowan, Anosh Irani, Alex Preston and Charlie Campbell, the captain of the team. Sreesanth, Ashok Menaria, Ajit Chandela, Dishant Yagnik, Raghu Iyer, Tarun Tejpal and Lakshya Raj Singh Mewar are among the eminent players constituting the Royals Management XI team.

In addition to this, Rajasthan Royals captain, Rahul Dravid is part of a session titled ‘Corner of a Distant Playing Field‘ and will be in conversation with Rajdeep Sardesai, unravelling the dharma of the game. This session presented by Rajasthan Royals will be conducted at 3.30 p.m. on 26 January.

Rajasthan Royals CEO Raghu Iyer said, "As a team that epitomizes the elegance, royalty and rich heritage of Rajasthan, we are proud and excited to be associated with the DSC Jaipur Literature festival. Other than being a magnificent platform to celebrate the wonderful art of writing, the festival is extraordinary because it is the most prestigious event in the Asia-Pacific region to recognise the works of both national and international writers. We respect its incredible spirit and vibrant character and wish the writers, participants and guests a wonderful creative experience!"

Rajasthan Royals is also promoting the DSC Jaipur Literature Festival on its digital platforms.