Southgate soaks in the IPL vibe

You must have spotted him in the stands. In the pink of Rajasthan Royals (RR). Watching the team go about their business at IPL 2025. Gareth Southgate, former England footballer and later national team coach, is in India, and following RR's (dipping) fortunes at the IPL.

The pictures have been splashed across news outlets, and people wondered what had brought him to India, and to the RR corner. Turns out he met Manoj Badale, the British Indian businessman and one of the owners of RR and two "struck up a good friendship".

And it didn't take much persuasion to make a first trip to India or to drop in at the cricket.

"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 said on a video released by the franchise. "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.

"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.

"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, [and] everybody's been really welcoming and it's been an amazing experience."