Saudi Arabia is wooing IPL owners and India’s cricket board with the goal of putting together a Twenty20 league, we reveal in part four of our IPL series.
Saudi Arabian government representatives have held talks with Indian Premier League owners about a plan to set up the world’s richest Twenty20 tournament in the gulf state.
Senior cricket administrators, coaches and players from several countries told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald they were aware of informal discussions dating back more than a year, but most asked not to be named due to their private nature.
Indian cricket is being wooed by Saudi Arabia to potentially form the richest men’s Twenty20 league in the world.Credit: AP
Some discussions have broached the possibility of Indian players being allowed to participate in the proposed tournament, in what would be a first for Indian cricket. Under rules set by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Indian players are banned from participating in overseas T20 competitions.
Any league would need to be sanctioned by the International Cricket Council with the assent of its member countries, including Australia.
ICC chair Greg Barclay confirmed Saudi Arabian interest in adding cricket to its string of recent sporting investments. He described the prospect as a “logical” next development for cricket in the region.
“If you look at other sports they’ve been involved in, cricket is something I imagine would be attractive to them,” he said.
“Given their advance into 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.”
As part of a special series, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald have spoken to players, their agents, administrators and others involved in the business of cricket about the IPL’s growing dominance, which is shaping up as the most profound change to the sport since Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket upheaval in the late 1970s.
Saudi Arabia has set the strategic goal of being the No.1 tourist destination for India by 2030. The kingdom is an associate member of the International Cricket Council and fosters local men’s and women’s cricket programs. Its infrastructure for cricket currently lacks the stadiums available in the UAE, but large-scale sporting venues form a central part of its building program.
“Our aim is to create a sustainable industry for locals and expats living in the Kingdom and make Saudi Arabia a global cricketing destination,” Saudi Arabian Cricket Federation chairman Prince Saud bin Mishal Al-Saud told Arab News last month.
Saudi Arabia’s other sporting expansions have included the advent of the Saudi Arabian Formula 1 Grand Prix, the 2021 purchase of Newcastle United in the English Premier League, the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo for the Al Nassr club, and the bankrolling of the LIV Golf circuit overseen by Greg Norman, all of which have attracted accusations of being cases of sportswashing to cover Saudi Arabia’s human rights record.
LIV has also split the golf world as players defected for multimillion-dollar payments on a circuit run in competition with the established professional tours. However, LIV players have been able to continue competing in major championships like last week’s Masters in Augusta.
Early discussions in the cricket space included a similar scenario for a Saudi-backed cricket structure, but there is now a resolution to build something with the assent of cricket’s official powerbrokers.
LIV golf CEO Greg Norman, who heads the controversial golf tour created and funded by Saudi Arabia backers.Credit: AP
After sponsorship deals by Aramco with the ICC and India’s cricket board, the BCCI, the Saudi Tourism Commission announced a major partnership with the IPL in February.
Representatives of Saudi government and business have been a visible presence across Indian cricketin recent weeks and months, with mounting expectation that IPL owners and the BCCI itself are being wooed with the goal of putting together a Twenty20 league that only the IPL could rival for financial scale.
At the same time, leading figures in Indian cricket have been approached for their views on how best to bring big cricket to Saudi Arabia. Other possibilities would include the staging of the annual Asia Cup, or the opening match, or a round of the IPL itself.
Even so, the prospect of a huge money Twenty20 event backed by IPL owners and the BCCI would be a massive change to what is already a packed cricket schedule, in which major Indian clubs are wielding increasing influence by buying up stakes in multiple leagues.
The launch of the ILT20 in the United Arab Emirates last year, with a vast pool of overseas players contracted, has been the subject of fierce debate among member countries, because the UAE does not have a strong domestic system and playing group of its own.
“One thing we are working on at an international level is to make sure that any new T20 leagues that are formed and sanctioned by the ICC are committed to growing the game in the territory they’re based,” Cricket Australia chief executive Nick Hockley said. “That is why there are regulations in place, why boards have to provide NOCs [No Objection Certificates] for players to play in other T20 leagues.”
Neither the BCCI nor the ICC have hesitated to enter into commercial agreements with Saudi Arabia, whether the sponsorship deals with Aramco or the more recent agreement between the Saudi Tourism Authority (STA) and the IPL.
When that deal was reached, Alhasan Aldabbagh, president of Asia Pacific markets for the authority, said that further expansion into cricket was part of plans to grow the visibility and tourism market of Saudi Arabia.
“IPL is the right platform to connect us with billions of [cricket] fans worldwide. This is a unique, first of its kind partnership with IPL. I believe it is the first time that the international destination has tied up with this league, IPL,” Aldabbagh said.
“We host multiple sporting events, including Formula 1, Formula E, WWE and the Spanish Super Cup. Next month, we will host the Santosh Trophy. There are more events coming in the pipeline. Cricket is also becoming popular in Saudi.”
At the same announcement, the BCCI’s secretary Jay Shah made it clear that he wanted to see a growing footprint for Saudi Arabia in cricket. “This partnership will create newer opportunities for cricket in Saudi and strengthen the sport in the region,” Shah said.
Pakistan cricket, too, has been looking to strengthen ties with Saudi Arabia. Also in February, the former captain Wasim Akram visited Riyadh and spoke of his eagerness to be involved in the launch of a league there.
“What a trip to Riyadh,” Akram wrote in a Facebook post. “Had a great meeting with [Prince Saud bin Mishal Al-Saud], talked about cricket in Saudi Arabia, and so looking forward to a Saudi league insha Allah very soon.”
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