ECB and BCCI are planning to oppose new Saudi Arabia-backed T20 league; here's how

A proposed global Twenty20 league backed by Saudi Arabia is already facing opposition even before an official announcement, with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) reportedly joining hands with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in their attempt to thwart the new league.

According to a report on The Guardian, ECB and BCCI officials had met on the sidelines of the ICC World Test Championship Final between Australia and South Africa at Lord’s that took place from 11 to 14 June.

The two boards have come to an agreement on not allowing their players to participate in the proposed T20 league that seeks to implement tennis’ Grand Slam model, wherein it will be conducting events in various parts of the world, in which Saudi Arabia’s SRJ Sports Investments has pledged a sum of £400 million.

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Both BCCI and ECB will also try and persuade the ICC to withhold their endorsement of the league, the idea of which reportedly came from ex-Australian cricketer Neil Maxwell, who has also secured the support of the Australian Cricketers’ Association.

Cricket Australia reportedly keen on going ahead with Saudi-backed league

Cricket Australia reportedly is keen on going ahead with the Saudi-backed league, since it doesn’t quite benefit financially from the Big Bash League they way ECB and Cricket South Africa have from The Hundred and SA20 respectively. While BBL franchises are owned by CA and state associations, ECB and CSA have witnessed a huge inflow of cash after selling their franchises.

The English board has raised up to £520 million by selling a minimum of 49 per cent stake in their eight Hundred franchises, many of which have been acquired by owners of current Indian Premier League franchises including Mumbai Indians.

IPL franchises also own teams in West Indies’ Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and UAE’s International League T20 (ILT20).

Also Read | IPL boss plays down talks of threat from Saudi-backed T20 'Grand Slam' League

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The absence of India and English players is likely to inflict a massive blow to the proposed league, especially since Saudi Arabia will not be able to attract enough interest from the broadcasters and fans with its home-grown talent and will be heavily reliant on overseas players, especially from Full Nations.

And even though the ICC, currently led by former BCCI secretary Jay Shah, maintains close ties with the oil-rich Gulf Kingdom, especially after signing a four-year deal with state-owned oil company Aramco, it isn’t likely to alter the limit of four overseas players from Full Member nations for the new league.