After making their presence felt in in sports like football, Formula 1, horse racing and boxing, Saudi Arabia is now planning to have their own T20 cricket league. According to Sydney Morning Herald, the proposed cricket league is “one of the most significant developments in the game in decades.”
The report in Sydney Morning Herald suggests that the league will have eight teams and will follow the Grand Slam model of tennis where the cricket matches will be held in four different locations in a particular season. The league will be funded by the SRJ Sports Investments, the body which looks after the sports investments by the Gulf country.
Further the report states that Australia’s Neil Maxwell, who has played cricket for New South Wales and Victoria, is spearheading the project. Currently, Maxwell manages Australian Test and ODI skipper Pat Cummins.
A group of wealthy investors have agreed to back the cricket league with Saudi Arabia being the primary financier. The Gulf nation is ready to inject $800million in the league.
Saudi is gradually increasing its footprint in cricket. Jeddah, the country’s second-largest city, hosted the mega-auction of the Indian Premier League last year. Last year, the sport’s global body, the International Cricket Council, extended its “global partnership” with Aramco, the world’s leading integrated energy and chemicals companies based in Saudi Arabia.
The catchment area for the league to sign players will primarily be Australia and the “new markets” of cricket. There will separate competitions for men and women. The league will be scheduled in a way so that it doesn’t interferes with international cricket matches and the IPL.
The league however will remain just a mere proposal if doesn’t get a green flag from the ICC. Also Saudi would need to convince the Indian Cricket Board, the BCCI, to permit its contracted players to feature in foreign T20 league, thus making way for them to participate in the Saudi T20 league as well.
Another hurdle in front of Saudi before launching the league is to improve its cricket infrastructure and build world class country’s cricket stadiums.
Prakhar Sachdeo
The Sportz Planet Desk
