Gujarat Titans are gearing up to launch the third edition of their grassroots initiative, Junior Titans, which will be held across five cities in the state. The previous two editions brought 10,000 children on board across multiple cities, as the 2022 champions of the Indian Premier League (IPL) reinforced their commitment to encouraging physical activity and outdoor play among young children.
The first edition featured activations across Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot and Bhuj, while the concluding showcase was held in Ahmedabad, engaging over 5,000 children from over 100 schools in the U-14 age group. Speaking of the second edition, it expanded across the state, with events held in Junagadh, Bhavnagar, Bharuch, Palanpur, and Ahmedabad, once again engaging more than 5,000 children from over 100 schools.
Ahead of the upcoming grassroots initiative, Gujarat Titans COO Arvinder Singh said the franchise knows its responsibilities very well, and that’s why it has always emphasised the importance of youngsters taking to the sport.
“I am asked this question: Why do we do this? We do this because we believe that India’s sporting infrastructure and facilities will eventually be in place. This is our small effort. We go and create such events. When you see, I will happily share all that. What kind of events do we organise in such places? Whatever we can do for motivation, for sports, not just for cricket, it’s very important. We believe in this. It’s our duty as a sporting franchise,” said the GT COO while replying to a Hindustan Times query during a select media interaction.
“We have credibility in this. If a sporting franchise motivates kids, they will listen to it more. It’s very important to understand this. I was saying this to someone earlier. We don’t say, I am a Gujarat Titan. We give kids t-shirts and merchandise to get closer to the programme and the franchise. We never say, I am a Gujarat Titan. If you see their t-shirt, it says, I am a Titan. Titan means I can achieve something; I can be big, larger than life, etc. I am a Titan. We want you to play. Whatever sport you like, if you have a little bit of motivation, to get you thinking on those lines, if you can do something in sports, then why not? This is the intention. In my view, there should be more such programmes. This is the third year. It will be bigger in the future. And not be restricted only to Gujarat,” he added.
All you need to know about the third season
The third edition will place greater emphasis on meaningful community engagement beyond Ahmedabad, as the initiative will expand into Gujarat and move closer to the communities the franchise proudly represents. It will begin on Saturday, 17 January, in Surendranagar, hosted at the Cambridge School of Excellence.
Thereafter, the programme will move to a new city every Saturday—Morbi (24 January), Amreli (31 January) and Anand (7 February)—before concluding in Ahmedabad on 14 February. The initiative aims to bring together hundreds of children across these locations, motivating them to step outdoors, play and engage in sport from an early age. The format remains non-competitive, prioritising participation, inclusion and the joy of being active.
