Road Safety World Series: Everything you need to know

The Road Safety World Series is a popular international cricket tournament where several former superstars of the game play together and against each other. The competition is organized and administered by the Road Safety World Series and the primary focus and objective of the tournament are to raise awareness regarding proper safety norms to be followed on roads.

The Road Safety World Series, also known as RSWS, was founded by Ravi Gaikwad who is the Chief of the Regional Transport Office as well as being a board member of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and the All India Football Federation (AIFF). He also received the approval of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

The first edition of the tournament began in March 2020 with legendary former Indian batsmen Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar acting as the commissioner and the brand ambassador respectively. Sachin Tendulkar is also the captain of Indian Legends and he was joined by several former high-profile cricketers of the game. Brian Lara (West Indies Legends), Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka Legends), Brett Lee (Australia Legends), and Jonty Rhodes (South Africa Legends) were the captains of their respective teams as well. The Round Robin format of the league was approved with the top two sides qualifying for and contesting in the final.

However, due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as an advisory by the Indian government on March 13, 2020, the remaining seven matches were scheduled for a later date. However, it was then decided that the remainder of the competition will be played behind closed doors at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai but it got infinitely postponed instead.

Instead of beginning from scratch once again in 2021, the tournament organizers opted to resume from where things were left off, with the 2020 edition being paused after only four games. Six teams took part in the tournament. They were India Legends, Sri Lanka Legends, South Africa Legends, West Indies Legends, Bangladesh Legends, and England Legends.

Bangladesh Legends and England Legends were added to the competition after Australia Legends opted out due to COVID-19. Mohammad Rafique and Kevin Pietersen were chosen as the captains of Bangladesh Legends and England Legends respectively.

India Legends defeated Sri Lanka Legends by 14 runs in the final to become the inaugural champions of the Road Safety World Series in 2021 while former Sri Lankan star Tillakaratne Dilshan being awarded the Player of the Series after being finishing as both the highest run-scorer as well as the top wicket-taker.

Road Safety World Series 2022 Schedule

The second edition of the Road Safety World Series is set to start from June 4 2022 with the final match being played in Lucknow on July 3. All of the matches will be conducted across three venues in Lucknow, Indore, and Jodhpur. While India Legends, South Africa Legends, West Indies Legends, Australia Legends, England Legends, Sri Lanka Legends and Bangaldesh Legends will return for the tournament, another team in New Zealand Legends has been added for this year’s competition.

The Road Safety World Series is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and the Ministry of Information and Technology and Youth Affairs and Sports Government of India. The 30-day tournament is played with the aim to create awareness towards road safety in India and around the globe.

“The Road Safety World Series is a very good initiative to create awareness towards road safety through cricket. We want every individual in this country to be aware and obey every rules and regulations while on the road and for that to happen, we have to create awareness among the people, I strongly believe that this series will be able to do and achieve the goal of saving lives on Indian roads,” said Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari.

“I am sure the Road Safety World Series will drive social change and work as an ideal platform to influence people’s mindset towards their behaviour on the road and road safety,” Union Sports Minister Anurag Thakur further added.

Road Safety World Series 2022 Teams

There will be eight teams participating in the Road Safety World Series 2022 with New Zealand Legends being the latest addition to the tournament:

• India Legends
• South Africa Legends
• West Indies Legends
• Australia Legends
• England Legends
• Sri Lanka Legends
• Bangladesh Legends
• New Zealand Legends

Road Safety World Series 2022 Squads

In the previous edition of the competition in 2021, nearly 160 former cricketers of the game took part in this noble cause to raise road safety public awareness. The likes of Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Sachin Tendulkar, Kevin Pietersen, Sanath Jayasuriya, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Brian Lara, Makhaya Ntini, Brett Lee were some of the biggest names last season.

Ever since the God of cricket Sachin Tendulkar hung up his boots, fans have been widely anticipating his return and an opportunity to see him return to action. They got exactly that last year when Sachin Tendulkar took charge of the India Legends side that ended up winning the Road Safety World Series 2021. Sources report that Sachin Tendulkar is set to return in the upcoming Road Safety World series, but there is no clarity on his role in the tournament yet. 

India Legends

Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Irfan Pathan, Pragyan Ojha, Munaf Patel, Ravi Gaikwad, Manpreet Gony, Noel David, Subramaniam Badrinath, Naman Ojha, Yusuf Pathan, Vinay Kumar, and Rajesh Pawar

England Legends

Kevin Pietersen, Darren Maddy, Owais Shah, Monty Panesar, Kabir Ali, Gavin Hamilton, Philip Mustard, Matthew Hoggard, James Tindall, Chris Tremlett, James Tredwell, Chris Schofield, Jonathan Trott, and Ryan Sidebottom

Sri Lanka Legends

Sanath Jayasuriya, Nuwan Kulasekara, Dhammika Prasad, Upul Tharanga, Russel Arnold, Kaushalya Weeraratne, Ajantha Mendis, Rangana Herath, and Chinthaka Jayasinghe

South Africa Legends

Makhaya Ntini, Justin Kemp, Alviro Petersen, Mornantau Hayward, Andrew Puttick, Thandi Tshabalala, Loots Bosman, Zander de Bruyn, and Monde Zondeki

West Indies Legends

Brian Lara, Dwayne Smith, Narsingh Deonarine, Mahendra Nagamootoo, William Perkins, Adam Sanford, Dinanath Ramnarine, Pedro Collins, Ryan Austin, Sulieman Benn, Tino Best, Carl Hooper, and Ridley Jacobs

Australia Legends

Brett Lee, Mark Cosgrove, Travis Birt, Brad Haddin, Brett Geeves, Brad Hodge, Nathan Reardon, Ben Laughlin, Clint McKay, Xavier Doherty, Jason Krejza, Shane Lee, and Pat Richards

Bangladesh Legends

Mohammad Rafique, Khaled Mahmud, Mohammad Sharif, Nafees Iqbal, Aftab Ahmed, Abdur Razzak, Khaled Mashud, Hannan Sarkar, Javed Omar, Rajin Saleh, Mehrab Hossain, Alamgir Kabir, Mushfiqur Rahman, Mohammed Nazimuddin Ahmed, and Mamoon Rashid

FAQs

What is the winners’ list of the Road Safety World Series so far?

India Legends are the inaugural and only winners of the Road Safet World Series so far.

What did the Road Safety World Series 2021 points table look like?

India Legends finished on top of the table and they were joined by Sri Lanka Legends, South Africa Legends, and West Indies Legends in the semi-finals in that order respectively. England Legends and Bangladesh Legends finished at the bottom of the table with Australia Legends opting out of the league.

What are the live streaming and broadcast details of the Road Safety World Series 2022?

The live streaming of the Road Safety World Series 2022 will be available on Jio TV for mobile users as well as the Voot website and app. Meanwhile, the live telecast will be broadcast on Colors Cineplex and Rishtey Cineplex.