7,500 Participants. 1,500 Submissions. Rajasthan Royals’
7,500 Participants. 1,500 Submissions. Rajasthan Royals’ SupeRR
Selector Brings Fan Talent to the Forefront of Sports Data Analytics
Rajasthan Royals’ SupeRR Selector Hackathon has concluded its Mumbai finale after
drawing 7,500 participants from 39 countries with 1,500 valid submissions,
marking the Royals as the first franchise in the league to build a fan-led analytics
initiative of this scale and ambition. Sixteen finalists featuring students, young
professionals and early-career analysts were invited to the franchise’s Mumbai office for
an in-person analytics challenge, where they stepped inside the Royals’ decisionmaking. The initiative placed emerging analytical talent at the centre, giving young
thinkers a meaningful platform to showcase their skills and engage with the strategic
world of the biggest T20 league.
The Mumbai finale offered the Top 16 finalists a dynamic, collaborative environment
where they worked through real-world T20 strategy scenarios, refined their models with
guidance from the Royals’ analytics team and presented their ideas to a panel including
senior members of the franchise.
At the end of the day-long challenge, three winners — Abhishek Akula (IIT Madras),
Nitin Rajasekar (IIIT Hyderabad) and Sainath Reddy (IIIT Raipur) — were selected
for their clarity of thought, analytical depth and innovative approach. They will now travel
to Abu Dhabi as Rajasthan Royals’ fan representatives at the Indian T20 League
auction, gaining rare behind-the-scenes access to one of cricket’s most strategic
events, along with an opportunity to present their case studies to Kumar Sangakkara
and Giles Lindsay.
Speaking about the initiative, Giles Lindsay, Director of Strategy & Analytics at
Rajasthan Royals, said: “The SupeRR Selector has shown us just how much
analytical HunaRR lives within our fanbase. The finalists brought remarkable creativity
and depth to their work, and it was inspiring to see them engage with the same strategic
challenges our team tackles every season. This initiative is about opening our doors to
fans, inviting them into our world and empowering them to contribute to the thinking
behind the sport. The quality we witnessed reinforces our belief that talent can come
from anywhere.”
The SupeRR Selector Hackathon is part of the Royals’ commitment to building longterm pathways for fan-led innovation and talent discovery, nurturing skill both on the
field and beyond it. As the franchise continues to spotlight young fans, it also aims to
open-source more of such events and give fans wider opportunities to participate in and
influence the dynamic sports ecosystem.
