Saudi Arabias SRJ Sports Investments has pledged to inject USD 400m to set up a new global T20 league that would have eight teams playing four tournaments in different locations each year in a set-up that has been compared to tennis Grand Slams.
However it has been learnt that the ambitious Saudi T20 league which is believed to be a USD 400 million project wont be backed by the BCCI or the England and Wales Cricket Board.
As per reports ECB and BCCI have joined hands to thwart the global T20 league backed by Saudi Arabia as they try to protect their respective flagship tourneys from getting diluted.
quotDuring discussions at the World Test Championship WTC final at Lords this month the ECB and BCCI agreed to unite in opposing the new league. The boards agreed they would not issue quotno objection certificatesquot to their players to sign up for the new competition as well as lobbying the International Cricket Council ICC to withhold their endorsementquot a report published in British newspaper The Guardian reported.
Must ReadInd vs Eng Tests Jasprit Bumrah likely to miss 2nd Test know possible replacement
quotUnder plans that emerged in Australia this year Saudis SRJ Sports Investments has pledged to inject USD 400m to set up the new league which would have eight teams playing four tournaments in different locations each year in a set-up that has been compared to tenniss Grand Slamsquot the report further added.
As per sources IPL is a USD 12 billion product and the ECB is all set to get richer by GBP 520m USD 700 million from the sale of 49% of the eight Hundred franhises.