Royals nominated for Laureus sports awards

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Sydney, Mar 26: The Indian Premier League (IPL) team, Rajasthan Royals, led by Shane Warne, are in the early running to be nominated for a gong at a Laureus World Sports Awards, which is certain to be dominated by Olympic and soccer teams.

Awards organisers mentioned them on Wednesday in a long list of contenders for nomination in the world team of the year category, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

"Captained and coached by Australian spin legend Shane Warne, the Rajasthan Royals cricket team won the inaugural Indian Premier League, despite being regarded as one of the weaker teams in the league," they said.

The nominees, venue and date for 2009 Laureus World Sports Awards will be announced on April 16.

The prestigious awards will recognise sporting achievement during the 2008 calendar year and are usually marked by a gala ceremony featuring stars of the sporting and entertainment worlds.

Also among the possible nominees is Jamaica's Olympic sprint team, including 100m and 200m champion and world record holder Usain Bolt.

The highly successful British cycling team which won eight gold, four silver and two bronze medals in Beijing are strong contenders, as are Spain's European Championship-winning soccer team.

Manchester United is also tipped for honours after winning their third Champions League title and the English Premier League.

The South Africa's cricket team will hope to follow their rugby counterparts, who won last year's team award, after becoming the first side in 16 years to win a Test series in Australia.

A panel of leading sports editors, writers and broadcasters from more than 120 countries vote to create a list of six nominations in each category, including sportsman, sportswoman, team, breakthrough and comeback of the year.

ANI