Lancashire Cricket to host ‘Destination Manchester’ trade event in Bengaluru
Lancashire Cricket is set to host a ‘Destination Manchester’ trade networking event during the Club’s 2025 pre-season tour of Bengaluru.
The event, which will be held on Tuesday 18 March at the Conrad Bengaluru, will focus on showcasing Manchester as a tourist destination, and a dynamic investment landscape, ahead of the India Men’s and Women’s Cricket Teams playing at Emirates Old Trafford on several occasions over the coming years.
Destination Manchester is being hosted by the Club in association with Visit Britain, Manchester India Partnership and Marketing Manchester and will feature presentations for the travel trade in Manchester from senior business leaders.
There will also be a Q&A session hosted by former Lancashire and England wicketkeeper Warren Hegg, with the panel including Club President Dame Sarah Storey, Lancashire Cricket and Manchester Originals players Tom Hartley and Fi Morris - plus Lancashire Men’s Harry Singh while the full Lancashire Women’s squad will also be in attendance as part of their pre-season tour.
Chandru Iyer, Deputy High Commissioner to Karnataka and Kerala, will also be in attendance on the evening, alongside a representative from RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group (RPSG).
Lancashire Cricket is playing its role in supporting bilateral trade talks between the UK and Indian Governments.
Following a recent visit which included Bengaluru, the UK Minister for Investment Poppy Gustafsson announced over £100million worth of Indian investments into the UK. The investments strengthened UK-India economic linkages and showcased exciting opportunities for Indian companies looking to grow in the UK.
The Lancashire Cricket hosted event follows last month’s announcement that the Club has entered into exclusivity talks with RPSG Group for the owners of Lucknow Super Giants to acquire a stake in Manchester Originals, The Hundred franchise team which is based at Emirates Old Trafford, with the transaction set to represent a deal of over £100million in value on its own directly into Manchester.
This is the fourth year-in-a-row the Club has travelled to India for pre-season preparations, a country the Red Rose shares a long-held connection with stretching back more than 50 years when Indian International wicketkeeper batter Farokh Engineer joined the County in 1968. Since Farokh retired, six further Indian players – Murali Kartik, Dinesh Mongia, V.V.S. Laxman, Sourav Ganguly, Washington Sundar and most recently Venkatesh Iyer – have represented the Red Rose.
In this year’s Indian Premier League, Lancashire players Jos Buttler (Gujarat Titans), Liam Livingstone (Royal Challengers Bengaluru) and Phil Salt (Royal Challengers Bengaluru) will all feature, whilst Sophie Ecclestone (Up Warriorz) is involved in the ongoing Women’s Premier League.
Speaking about the event, Lancashire Cricket’s Chief Executive Daniel Gidney said: “We are delighted to be in Bengaluru once again for our annual men’s and women’s pre-season tour. Destination Manchester will bring together senior business leaders from both India and the UK to highlight all that Manchester has to offer as both a tourist destination and as a dynamic investment landscape.
“Lancashire Cricket is proud of its relationship with India, and we are excited to be welcoming the Indian Cricket Teams to Emirates Old Trafford over the next few years, starting this summer when we host our first Women’s IT20 in over a decade, followed by a Men’s Test Match in July.
“After recently entering into exclusivity talks with RPSG, we are looking forward to completing that deal and strengthening our relationship with India even further as we work together to grow Manchester Originals and Lancashire Cricket alongside their stable of teams, including Lucknow Super Giants of the IPL.”
Shuja Bin Mehdi, VisitBritain’s Senior Manager Industry Engagement, India commented: “VisitBritain is excited to welcome Lancashire Cricket and Marketing Manchester to India. Through this roadshow, we aim to showcase our trade partners the incredible experiences that Greater Manchester and Emirates Old Trafford offer visitors – whether it is world-class sporting events, vibrant culture, heritage or great music. With the recent launch of our global ‘Starring GREAT Britain’ campaign, we are inspiring visitors to see Britain as the star of the show, bringing iconic film and TV locations to life. Be a part of the set-jetting trend, choose Britain, explore more and come now.”
Simon Arora, Chair of The Manchester India Partnership, and founder of B&M, said: "Lancashire Cricket’s ‘Destination Manchester’ event in Bengaluru is a great example of the deepening ties between Manchester and India. Sport has always been a powerful connector, and with Manchester set to host India’s men’s and women’s international cricket teams, this event is a great platform to strengthen relationships across tourism, business, and investment.
“The Manchester India Partnership is proud to support initiatives like this, which not only celebrate our shared passion for cricket but also create meaningful opportunities for collaboration. With significant Indian investment already flowing into the UK, and Manchester playing a central role in these economic partnerships, we look forward to seeing even greater connections grow following this visit.”
Victoria Braddock from Marketing Manchester added: “India is a key market for the growth of Greater Manchester’s visitor economy, and ‘Destination Manchester’ is a unique opportunity to showcase the best of the destination and engage with travel trade partners and the media to drive visits to the region.
“It is also a timely opportunity to explore connections with the announcement of a new direct flight from India to Manchester Airport with airline IndiGo, starting in Summer 2025, which will open up new opportunities for visitors, trade and investment to strengthen Manchester’s position as the global gateway to the north.”