Legendary batter Rahul Dravid has been announced as the owner of Dublin Guardians ahead of the inaugural edition of the European T20 Premier League (ETPL). The six-team tournament officially unveiled all its franchises during a launch event held on Monday.
Former India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is set to captain the Dublin-based franchise, which will compete against teams representing Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Rotterdam, and Amsterdam. Speaking about his association with the league, Dravid highlighted the tournament’s long-term vision for cricket development across Europe.
“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.
“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,” he added.
The launch event was attended by several franchise owners and key figures from European cricket. Among those present were Jonty Rhodes, ETPL co-founders Abhishek Bachchan, Saurav Banerjee, Priyanka Kaul, and Dhiraj Malhotra.
Senior officials from Cricket Ireland, Cricket Scotland, and Cricket Netherlands also attended the ceremony, including Brian MacNeice, Sarah Keane, Roland Lefebvre, and Trudy Lindblade. The ETPL has been launched in collaboration with Cricket Ireland, Cricket Scotland, and the Royal Dutch Cricket Association. The league will feature franchises based in Dublin, Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Rotterdam, and Amsterdam.
Several international stars are expected to participate in the inaugural season, including Mitchell Marsh, Tim David, Mitchell Santner, Liam Livingstone, Glenn Maxwell, Faf du Plessis, and Heinrich Klaasen. The inaugural ETPL season is scheduled to be held from August 26 to September 20.
ETPL franchise ownerships:
- Dublin – Rahul Dravid
- Belfast – Glenn Maxwell and Rohan Lund
- Edinburgh – Kyle Mills, Nathan McCullum and Rachel Wiseman
- Glasgow – Vipul Aggarwal and Chris Gayle
- Amsterdam – Steve Waugh, Jamie Dwyer and Tim Thomas
- Rotterdam – Jonty Rhodes, Faf du Plessis, Glashin and Samir Shah, with Madhukar Shree as managing partner.
