FORMER India captain Rahul Dravid has been named co-owner of Dublin Guardians in the new European T20 Premier League, which will begin in August, as part of an Indian consortium.
Dravid is the latest former cricketer to take an ownership stake in one of the league’s six franchises based in Dublin, Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Rotterdam and Amsterdam.
Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell is co-owner of Belfast Wolves, while former Australia captain Steve Waugh is among the owners of Amsterdam Flames.
New Zealand cricketers Nathan McCullum and Kyle Mills are owners of Edinburgh Castle Rockers, while West Indies batter Chris Gayle is co-owner of Glasgow Cosmic.
South African cricketers Jonty Rhodes, Faf du Plessis and Heinrich Klaasen are owners of Rotterdam Dockers.
“Dublin already has a passionate cricketing community and enormous potential for growth,” said the 53-year-old Rahul Dravid, who has also served as head coach of India and Rajasthan Royals in the IPL.
“Nurturing the next generation has always been important to me, and I believe the ETPL can play a meaningful role in that journey.”
Organisers of the league, co-founded by Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan, are aiming to establish Europe, outside traditional cricket market England, on the global cricket map and grow the game across the continent.
Launched in partnership with Cricket Ireland, Cricket Scotland and the Royal Dutch Cricket Association, the ETPL will be Europe’s first ICC-sanctioned multi-country franchise T20 league.
Du Plessis, Klaasen and Maxwell will also play in the tournament alongside players including Steve Smith, Mitchell Marsh, Mitchell Santner and Liam Livingstone.
The inaugural edition of the ETPL will feature 33 matches from August 26 to September 20.
