Rahul Dravid Buys Team In This T20 League, Ravichandran Ashwin Named Captain

India great Rahul Dravid was on Monday announced as the owner of Dublin Guardians ahead of launch of the European T20 Premier League. ETPL completed its six-team franchise line-up at a landmark event here which was attended by franchise owners from across the tournament. “What attracted me to ETPL was the larger vision behind it, the opportunity to help grow cricket in Europe by strengthening grassroots development and creating pathways for emerging talent across Ireland and Europe,” Dravid said in a release.

Former India all-rounder R Ashwin is set to captain the Guardians, who will compete against teams from Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Rotterdam and Amsterdam.

“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.” The event was attended by Vipul Aggarwal of Glasgow Franchise, and Jonty Rhodes and Madhukar Shree of Rotterdam Franchise, alongside ETPL co-founders Abhishek Bachchan, Saurav Banerjee, Priyanka Kaul and Dhiraj Malhotra.

In attendance were senior leaders from European cricket, including Brian MacNeice, Chair of Cricket Ireland; Sarah Keane, CEO of Cricket Ireland; Roland Lefebvre, Director of High Performance of Cricket Netherlands; and Trudy Lindblade, CEO of Cricket Scotland.

Launched in partnership with Cricket Ireland, Cricket Scotland and the Royal Dutch Cricket Association, ETPL introduces a cross-border franchise model featuring teams from Dublin, Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Rotterdam and Amsterdam.

The league is expected to feature international stars including Mitchell Marsh, Tim David, Mitchell Santner, Liam Livingstone, Glenn Maxwell, Faf du Plessis, Heinrich Klaasen among others.

The inaugural season is scheduled between August 26 and September 20.

ETPL’s franchise ownership: Dublin franchise – Rahul Dravid, Belfast franchise – Glenn Maxwell and Rohan Lund, Edinburgh franchise – Kyle Mills, Nathan McCullum & Rachel Wiseman, Glasgow franchise –Vipul Aggarwal and Chris Gayle, Amsterdam franchise – Steve Waugh, Jamie Dwyer and Tim Thomas, Rotterdam franchise – Jonty Rhodes, Faf du Plessis, Glashin and Samir Shah, with Madhukar Shree as Managing Partner.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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