Reliance Industries Limited, the owners of five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians, on Wednesday unveiled the name and brand identity of their two new franchises in UAE's International League T20 and Cricket South Africa T20 League.
For the UAE League, 'MI Emirates' will be the name of the franchise while in South Africa, it will be 'MI Cape Town'. Both teams will don the iconic blue and gold of the Mumbai Indians franchise in the IPL as the franchise and owners go global in the T20 franchise league world.
As per the official statement, the names of the franchises in UAE and SA T20 Leagues were chosen as they call out the specific regions from where the teams will be based. "The teams, 'MI Emirates' or phonetically "MY Emirates" and 'MY Cape Town' respectively, are dedicated to fans across both the Emirates and Cape Town."
"The new entities take the iconic Mumbai Indians identity and weaves in the local influence. The global expansion of #OneFamily will bring to the leagues the ethos and the values that have helped elevate Mumbai Indians to be one of the most loved teams in franchise cricket," further said the statement.
"'It gives me great pleasure to welcome 'MI Emirates' & 'MI Cape Town', the newest additions to our #Onefamily. For us, MI goes beyond cricket. It embodies the ability to dream, be fearless and foster a positive attitude in life."
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"I am sure that both MI Emirates and MI Cape Town will embrace the same ethos and take MI's global cricket legacy to even greater heights!" said Nita M. Ambani, Director of Reliance Industries.