Rahul Dravid Acquires T20 Team; Ravichandran Ashwin To Lead Side
Rahul Dravid’s new T20 franchise appoints Ashwin as captain.
Former India head coach and batting great Rahul Dravid was on Monday announced as the owner of the Dublin Guardians franchise ahead of the inaugural season of the European T20 Premier League (ETPL). The announcement was made during a launch event that completed the six-team franchise lineup for the new cross-border T20 competition set to take place across Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands.
The Dublin Guardians will be captained by veteran Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and will compete alongside franchises based in Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Rotterdam and Amsterdam. Speaking after the announcement, Dravid said the league’s larger vision of developing cricket in Europe and creating opportunities for emerging players was a key reason behind his involvement with the tournament.
Dravid said Dublin already possesses a strong cricketing community and significant potential for growth. He added that nurturing young talent has always been an important aspect of his cricketing philosophy and expressed confidence that the ETPL could play a meaningful role in strengthening grassroots cricket across Ireland and Europe. The league has been launched in partnership with Cricket Ireland, Cricket Scotland and the Royal Dutch Cricket Association.
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The launch event was attended by several prominent figures from global cricket, including former South Africa cricketer Jonty Rhodes and former India all-rounder Chris Gayle, who are also associated with franchise ownership groups. ETPL co-founders Abhishek Bachchan, Saurav Banerjee, Priyanka Kaul and Dhiraj Malhotra were also present, along with senior administrators from European cricket boards.
The tournament is expected to feature several international stars, including Mitchell Marsh, Tim David, Mitchell Santner, Liam Livingstone, Glenn Maxwell, Faf du Plessis and Heinrich Klaasen. The inaugural edition of the ETPL is scheduled to run from August 26 to September 20.
The league’s franchise ownership structure includes Glenn Maxwell and Rohan Lund with the Belfast franchise, Steve Waugh and partners with Amsterdam, Kyle Mills and Nathan McCullum with Edinburgh, and Jonty Rhodes and Faf du Plessis among the ownership group for Rotterdam. Organisers believe the tournament can help expand cricket’s footprint in Europe by combining international star power with local talent development initiatives.
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