The upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will see Rajasthan Royals playing two of their home games in the northeast region of the country. The matches will be played at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati, Assam, which has been confirmed by both the franchise and the Assam Cricket Association.

"The Rajasthan Royals had earlier requested the BCCI to allow them to play some of their home matches in Guwahati, and the Committee of Administrators (CoA) had on 13 August approved their request," said Devajit Lon Saikia, Secretary of the Assam Cricket Association (ACA).

Kings XI Punjab trade R Ashwin to Delhi Capitals in return for J Suchith

He added, "The approval was placed and accepted in the IPL governing council, chaired by former India batsman Brijesh Patel, at the BCCI headquarters on Tuesday."

Last year, Assam’s own Riyan Parag made headlines with his amazing performances for the franchise and this relationship between the two sides will further be strengthened as Royals will also set up a cricket academy in the state.

"At present, the Royals have a couple of academies in different cities and are set to open their third academy in collaboration with the ACA in Guwahati. As of now, we have not come up with the nomenclature but the academy is likely to be set up in January," said Saikia.

ACA is also preparing to host an international fixture, an India vs Sri Lanka T20I scheduled for 5 January. The Barsapara Stadium hosted its first T20I which was played between India and Australia in 2017 and then hosted an ODI between India and the West Indies in October last year.

(Times of India inputs)