April 27, 2023
Saudi Arabia To Launch World's Richest T-20 League
By Syed Rifaquat Ali
Saudi Arabia is planning to launch world's richest T-20 League, parallel to Indian Premier League (IPL), but far, far greater commercially.
This is a step laudable as IPL is a mix of politics and sport,which belittles the stupendous effort of the organisers. The very fact that the Pakistani cricketers, some of them commanding world-wide reputation, are banned from participating in IPL.
The Board of Control For Cricket in India (BCCI) is subservient to the Central Government in taking decisions in crucial matters. The BCCI and Pakistan Cricket Board ( PCB) are keen to schedule a bilateral series but cannot take a step forward in this direction since the Indian Government is inimical to such a move and is averse to friendly relations with her neighboring country.
This is evident from the fact that India has refused to field its national team in the ICC T-20 World Cup which Pakistan is hosting this September, nor it will entertain Pakistan team during October 2023 ICC ODI World Cup to be held in India. This is alarming and ICC's silence in this context is nauseating.
Sport binds two countries and promotes camaraderie. Alas, it does not get into the head of India and Pakistan.
The Chairman of ICC, Greg Barckay, has confirmed Arabia's interest in investing in Franchise cricket and cricket as a sport I n general, given their previous investments in other sport, such as Formula 1 Grand Prix and Liv Golf.
According to The Age, Saudi Arabia government representatives have held informal discussions with IPL owners over the past twelve months about the possibility of setting up a T-20 event in the Asian nation.
The combined financial backing of Saudi businesses and IPL conglomerates which have already purchased multiple T-20 franchises globally could make it one of the world's richest T-20 competitions.
Fox Sport says that Saudi Arabia's effort is a threat to international cricket landscape as it is looking to establish a high-paying T-20 tournament backed by IPL owners and BCCI.
Once the SA T-20 League is launched, cricket will definitely make a big Impact on Middle East countries, particularly the Gulf countries which are associate members of ICC.
It is anticipated that SA T-20 !eagle will attract top class players from all over the world sinc eit promises much greater affluency than what IPL doles out selectively.
Syed Rifaquat Ali is JoA correspondent in Sydney
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Published since July 2008 |
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