Emirates T20 League: New league may see Mumbai Indians, Shah Rukh Khan, Manchester United investment

Mumbai, November 19: Emirates T20 League, a six-franchise league, is set to take off in the UAE in early parts of 2022, possibly in the January-February window.

Interestingly, the six teams are set to be owned by high-profile owners like Bollywood star and co-owner of Kolkata Knight Riders Shah Rukh Khan, Glazer Family, the owners of Premier League giants Manchester United, Mumbai Indians, Sydney Sixers, the Big Bash League team, Capri Global, a financial services company, and Kiran Kumar Grandhi, co-owner of Delhi Capitals.

It may be recalled that both Glazer Family and Capri Global were in the fray for owing the two new IPL franchises last month when the auction had taken place. But they lost out to CVC Capitals and RP Sanjeev Goenka Group, who bought the Ahmedabad and Lucknow teams respectively.

As per a report in Times of India, the Chennai Super Kings too had shown initial interest but withdrew as the discussion advanced.

Sundar Raman, the former IPL CEO, is working actively behind this league as per the report. It has got the full backing of Emirates Cricket Board and the UAE Ministry of Culture headed by Sheikh Al Nahiyan.

Grandhi, the co-owner of the Capitals, will be investing in his personal capacity and Parth Jindal, the other co-owner, will not be a part of this Emirates T20 investment.

The ECB is all set zero in on a broadcaster for the league and it may coincide with the IPL mega auction. Unlike other league, the Emirates T20 League will see investment on an annual basis, with returns fixed on broadcasting and sponsorship deals.

The organisers believe that the Emirates T20 League is a model that can grow quickly and exponentially considering the timing of the UAE suits most major markets like India, few other Asian nations, UK and even the USA, a major targeted market of the sport.

The organisers are also hoping to see participation from a few Indian cricketers too that can add more star value to the league. Though there is no official word yet from BCCI in this regard, the organisers think the Indian board might take a favourable decision considering their good relation with the UAE counterparts.