Rahul Dravid has been named the owner of Dublin Guardians ahead of the primary season of the European T20 Premier League (ETPL). The six-team competition revealed all its franchises during an official launch event on Monday.
Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin will lead the Dublin franchise, which is able to face teams from Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Rotterdam, and Amsterdam. Sharing his thoughts on joining the league, Dravid emphasized the ETPL’s broader goal of promoting and developing cricket across Europe.
“What attracted me to ETPL was the larger vision behind it, the chance to assist grow cricket in Europe by strengthening grassroots development and creating pathways for emerging talent across Ireland and Europe,” Dravid said in a release.
“Dublin already has a passionate cricketing community and massive potential for growth. Nurturing the subsequent generation has all the time been essential to me, and I consider ETPL can play a meaningful role in that journey,” he added.
The launch event featured several franchise owners and distinguished personalities from European cricket. Those in attendance included Jonty Rhodes, together with ETPL co-founders Abhishek Bachchan, Saurav Banerjee, Priyanka Kaul, and Dhiraj Malhotra.
Top officials from Cricket Ireland, Cricket Scotland, and the Royal Dutch Cricket Association were also present, including Brian MacNeice, Sarah Keane, Roland Lefebvre, and Trudy Lindblade.
The ETPL has been introduced through a partnership between Cricket Ireland, Cricket Scotland, and the Royal Dutch Cricket Association, with franchises representing Dublin, Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Rotterdam, and Amsterdam.
Several global cricket stars are set to feature within the opening season, including Mitchell Marsh, Tim David, Mitchell Santner, Liam Livingstone, Glenn Maxwell, Faf du Plessis, and Heinrich Klaasen. The primary edition of the ETPL is ready to happen from August 26 to September 20.
ETPL franchise ownerships
- Dublin – Rahul Dravid
- Belfast – Glenn Maxwell and Rohan Lund
- Edinburgh – Kyle Mills, Nathan McCullum and Rachel Wiseman
- Glasgow – Vipul Aggarwal and Chris Gayle
- Amsterdam – Steve Waugh, Jamie Dwyer and Tim Thomas
- Rotterdam – Jonty Rhodes, Faf du Plessis, Glashin and Samir Shah, with Madhukar Shree as managing partner.
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