With the upcoming ILT20 in mind, Saudi Arabia is planning to set up the richest league in the Gulf region. As a first step, they approached IPL owners. Read to know more.
All about the ILT20
The Saudi government is planning to set up the richest T20 league in the world and proposed their plans to the owners of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Recently, they have been actively investing in several sports and set their eyes on the untapped potential of cricket. Having come aboard as sponsors of the 2023 IPL season, they approached IPL owners with the same.
Under current Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) rules, Indian players cannot participate in the T20 league outside India. However, the proposal may convince BCCI to mend the existing rules. As per a report in The Age, conversations regarding the Saudi Arabian government have been going on for a year. Any new league formed will need sanction by the International Cricket Council and its member nations.
More on the new update
However, having invested in multiple sports and sporting events across the world, the Gulf nation is being criticized for trying to sweep its human rights records with the new move. “If you look at other sports they’ve been involved in, cricket is something I imagine would be attractive to them. Given their advance into the sport more generally, cricket would work quite well for Saudi Arabia. They’re pretty keen to invest in sport, and given their regional presence, cricket would seem a pretty obvious one to pursue,” stated Greg Barclay. Barclay is the ICC Chairman.
Currently, the United Arab Emirates is the go-to nation when matches are hosted on Gulf soil. Earlier. UAE became the first to host IPL outside India as the Covid-19 outbreak made it impossible to hold the match. Last year, UAE launched the ILT20, their own T20 league. Several IPL owners became stakeholders in the new ILT20.
