A revealing report claims that this project has been secretly being worked on for a long time and investors are also ready
Qaiser Manzoor Chaudhry Daily Dawn +Dawn TV
Riyadh: Saudi Arabia’s secret plan for the most expensive T20 league in the world of cricket, on the lines of the Tennis Grand Slam, has been revealed.
The British English newspaper Daily Dawn London and the famous Australian website ‘The Age’ have revealed in the report that Saudi Arabia is working on a T20 league project at the international level, which has been planned by an influential Australian cricket personality and has been described as a very important step in the promotion of cricket.
The report stated that the proposed cricket league will have 8 teams and it is proposed to keep it on the model of tennis and Grand Slams and the participating teams will play matches at 4 different locations throughout the year and the teams will also be selected in the same way.
Regarding the league, it has been reported that Saudi Arabia’s sports department SRJ Sports Investment will be its main financier and it was reported that this unique project has been under discussion with the International Cricket Council (ICC) for the past one year.
The report claims that the concept has been secretly worked on for a year and the project is the brainchild of former Australian all-rounder Neil Maxwell, who is also the manager of Australian captain Pat Cummins and is also a former board member of the Australian Cricketers Association and Cricket NSW.
Sources familiar with the project told Dawn TV and Daily Dawn London on condition of anonymity that a consortium of investors is ready for the international league, but the name of the league was not given.
The report states that Saudi Arabia will provide a huge amount of $500 million for this cricket league.
It should be noted that Saudi Arabia has previously started football, golf, Formula One racing competitions and also holds the rights to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup.
Saudi Arabia’s SRJ Sports Investment is headed by Danny Townsend, the former chief executive of Australia’s professional leagues, and now Saudi Public Investment is also co-chairing it.
Dawn sources further said that this league will be played at a time when, in addition to ICC tournaments, T20 leagues of Test cricket nations like Big Bash and IPL are not being held.
According to the report, the Saudi cricket league will require the approval of member boards like Cricket Australia and the ICC and the final decision will be in the hands of current ICC chief Jay Shah.
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