Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell and former captain Steve Waugh are among the franchise owners in a new European Twenty20 league, which begins in August after two false starts.
Backed by the cricket boards of Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands, and endorsed by the International Cricket Council, the founders of the European T20 Premier League (ETPL) include Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan.
“Continental Europe is not known for cricket,” Bachchan said. Reuters in Sydney, where they revealed the owners of the three teams, including the Amsterdam franchise owned by a group that includes Waugh and five-time International Hockey Federation Player of the Year Jamie Dwyer.
“This is an opportunity to create a huge cricket ecosystem in and around Europe. With ETPL, we hope to bring the magic of cricket euphoria to continental Europe.”
Maxwell co-owns the Belfast franchise, while former New Zealand internationals Nathan McCullum and Kyle Mills bought the Edinburgh team.
The ICC has 33 members in Europe, most on all continents, including full members England and Ireland. Scotland and the Netherlands have played in World Cups, while Italy will make their T20 World Cup debut next month.
“Italy’s qualification for the World Cup indicates Europe’s interest in cricket, and cricket’s participation in the 2028 Olympics is a new boost for Europe,” Bachchan said.
“We hope to make the ETPL one of the best T20 leagues in the world.”
Waugh hoped the Amsterdam franchise would inspire more kids to take up the game.
“Franchise cricket has the best players in the world playing with the locals,” said the two-time World Cup winner. Reuters.
“In Amsterdam, Dutch players will have the opportunity to play alongside players like Mitchell Marsh, the current Australia T20 captain, or Steve Smith, one of the greatest of all time. You can’t buy that kind of experience.”
Originally conceived as the Euro T20 Slam, the league failed to take off in 2019 and its planned launch last year was delayed for the second time.
