NEW DELHI: Former India captain and coach Rahul Dravid has been named as a co-owner of the Dublin franchise in a new European Twenty20 league, with the 53-year-old being part of an Indian consortium that acquired the team in the tournament set to launch in September.
Dravid, who has also played and coached in the Indian Premier League, is the latest former cricketer to be named among the owners in the six-team European T20 Premier League (ETPL), which will also have teams based in Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Rotterdam and Amsterdam.
The Irish capital side will be called the Dublin Guardians, ETPL organisers said in a statement on Monday.
“Dublin already has a passionate cricketing community and enormous potential for growth. Nurturing the next generation has always been important to me, and I believe ETPL can play a meaningful role in that journey,” Dravid said.
Former West Indies batter Chris Gayle co-owns the Glasgow franchise, while South Africans Faf du Plessis, Jonty Rhodes and Heinrich Klaasen formed a consortium to buy the Rotterdam team. Former New Zealand internationals Nathan McCullum and Kyle Mills bought the Edinburgh side, and Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell is a co-owner of the Belfast franchise.
Former Australia captain Steve Waugh is part of the group that owns the Amsterdam franchise.
Backed by the cricket boards of Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands, the ETPL’s founders include Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan.
Reuters