IPL Final: Rajasthan Royals invite Class of '08, to felicitate them during the final

Rajasthan Royals team will have one nostalgic congregation in Ahmedabad on Sunday (May 29). The management of the Jaipur franchise has invited the players of the 2008 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which was won by them against all odds, for this year's final at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad. Among those invited are Munaf Patel, Yusuf Pathan, Swapnil Asnodkar, Dinesh Salunkhe, Siddharth Trivedi and Ravindra Jadeja.

All, part of the title-winning squad, are expected to be there just as a few foreign players. The foreign players like Shane Watson, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Kamran Akmal, Darren Lehmann and Sohail Tanvir will not be able to attend the get-together for different reasons but Graeme Smith, who was a prolific scorer for the team as an opener, will be there. He is in India as a commentator anyway.

"I have been invited and I will be going there tomorrow," said Asnodkar, who had made an equally impactful contribution for the side as an opening partner of Smith, told TOI confirming the invite. "We are a family and we believe in the principle of 'once a Royal always a Royal," said Romi Bhander, the head of Rajasthan Royals' Jaipur-based high-performance centre. "We want all our family members to be part of our celebrations and success." Conspicuous by absence will be the team's indefatigable captain and leader Shane Warne, who passed away just about a fortnight before the start of this IPL and there will be tributes for him.