New Delhi: Former England footballer and national team coach Gareth Southgate is having a great time with the Rajasthan Royals (RR), as he travels with the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise amid his ongoing India tour. Only recently, he sparked a wave of reactions among the fans who spotted him in the all-pink jersey of the Royals during their IPL 2025 encounter with Mumbai Indians (MI) in Jaipur last Thursday.
He was yet again present to cheer for the team on Sunday, as they took on the defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Eden Gardens. The netizens have been in disbelief ever since his first attendance in the IPL and have been wondering what had brought him to India, specially to the RR corner. The legendary defender himself revealed his connection with the RR team and talked in detail about his love and passion for cricket.
In a video shared by IPL and Rajasthan Royals on their social media handles, Southgate spoke about his youth and the Indian cricket players that he used to watch. Being with RR, he has been soaking in the vibe of the IPL, as he attends the games with his family.
“I’ve always been a fan of cricket. When I was a young kid. I used to watch Test matches all day long. I mean, I am going back to the era of Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar and players like that,” Southgate reminisced. He also mentioned his meeting with England skipper Ben Stokes, who talked with the national football team last year.
“And then, over the years, got to know a lot of the players when I was playing for England and I knew a lot of the England team. Last year, Ben Stokes came and talked to the England (football) team and so, also with a lot of the coaches, you know, you learn a lot across sports,” he added.
𝙁𝙤𝙤𝙩𝙗𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙍𝙤𝙮𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙮 🤝 𝘾𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙩’𝙨 𝙍𝙤𝙮𝙖𝙡𝙨 ⚽🏏
Passion for cricket 👌
Former England football manager Gareth Southgate is soaking up the #TATAIPL experience with #RR 🩷
And more…#KKRvRR | @rajasthanroyals pic.twitter.com/doadVgHWnX— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 5, 2025
The RR connection
As it turned out, he is a good friend of Manoj Badale, the British Indian businessman and one of the owners of RR. It certainly wouldn’t have taken much persuasion for Southgate to make a first trip to India or to run straight into cricket, considering his love for the game.
“So that’s really why I’m here. Manoj (Badale), one of the advisors to the federation when I was there. So I found him really helpful, challenging my thinking, so we struck up a good friendship,” the 54-year-old said. He further drew parallels between cricket and football management and talked about his time with RR and, of course, the IPL experience.
Unexpected crossovers of 2025 ft Gareth Southgate 💗 pic.twitter.com/eiTN0gssoR
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) May 2, 2025
“Every sport is evolving rapidly. So much that coaches share, medical teams share, and, yeah, it’s always fascinating to go outside your field and learn from other people. You face so many similar problems, and of course they are two world-leading players and incredible figures within the squad, so it’s been a pleasure to spend time with them,” Southgate insisted.
“I love the sport, so it’s lovely to come here and I’ve loved coming to India, it’s the first time I’ve been to India, everybody’s been really welcoming and it’s been an amazing experience,” he said of the nation’s hospitality.
At the end, he was asked about rating his six-hitting abilities on a scale of 1 to 10, to which he replied, “One”, as he chuckled.
Lately, Gareth Southgate has been spotted twice in the Rajasthan Royals’ colours, supporting and travelling with the team as he continues his India tour amid the IPL 2025. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
