Euro T20 league with Bollywood star’s backing to be postponed

Due to three potential owners focusing on closing deals to purchase team stakes in The Hundred, plans to hold a European T20 franchise tournament this summer have been put off until 2026.

Beginning next month, the European T20 Premier League (ETPL), which is a part-owned by Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan and features city-based franchises from Ireland, Scotland, and the Netherlands, was scheduled to begin.

Although the six-team competition was scheduled to take place on July 15 through August 3, multiple sources have informed BBC Sport that the event will undoubtedly not take place this year.

Cricket Ireland is working with the Scottish and Dutch boards to lead the project.

The ETPL’s designated locations included Dublin, Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Amsterdam, and Rotterdam, and it was intended to “elevate local talent, attract international superstars, and incite a wave of cricketing enthusiasm across Europe.”

Deals for at least three of the six city-based franchises are reportedly close to being finalized, and it was initially anticipated that the remaining three would follow soon after they were finished.

Three of those potential ETPL franchise owners, however, are reportedly prioritizing the acquisitions of stakes in The Hundred.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) extended the January 1st, 2014, deadline for the Hundred franchise sales.

The delay in those sales has a negative impact, with a formal announcement to confirm that the ETPL has been rescheduled for a later 48 hours.

When Rules Sport Tech and Bollywood actor and producer Bachchan first became part-owners of the ETPL, Bachchan was confirmed as a part-owner.

A private Indian company called Rules Sport Tech “promotes and creates high quality sports initiatives, tournaments, and events”

In March, Mumbai-born Bachchan, 49, traveled to Dublin to promote the event through a number of press conferences and Instagram posts.

The Dutch, Irish, and Scottish cricket boards have not played a single game of European T20 franchise competition before.

The Euro T20 Slam, which attracted various backers in 2019, was postponed just over a fortnight before the tournament opener.

Following the release of team names, the holding of a draft, and the franchises’ allocation of marquee players, including Eoin Morgan,

The tournament was never held, but it was repeatedly postponed over the course of several years.

Even though no franchises have yet been sold, the ETPL’s prospects are encouraging, and organizers are confident that it won’t suffer the same fate as the Euro T20 Slam.