Indian Premier League 2024

'Cheerleader hogi ki nahin?' - Fans react as Saudi Arabia holds talks with IPL owners to set up world’s richest T20 league

The Saudi Arabian government has reportedly held talks with the owners of the Indian Premier League to set up the world's richest T20 league.

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Akshay
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IPL (Image credit: Twitter)

IPL IPL (Image credit: Twitter)

Saudi Arabia is seeking to set up the world's richest T20 League, with the government pitching proposals to Indian Premier League owners. After making their way into Formula 1 with the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and the LIV Golf, the Saudi government has set their next target as cricket.

Indian players are not permitted to compete in overseas cricket competitions under current Indian Cricket Board rules, and the new proposal from the Gulf nation is unlikely to convince board officials to change their policies.

According to reports, discussions about the plan have been going on for about a year, and any potential league formed in the second-largest nation in the Arab world would have to be sanctioned by the Cricket Governing Body and the member countries.

They're pretty keen to invest in sport: Greg Barclay

Cricket Governing Body chairman Greg Barclay also confirmed Saudi Arabia's investment interest in T20 cricket.

"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," Barclay added.

The Saudi government has been actively investing in multiple sports and is eager to draw great names to their country. Al-Nassr, a Riyadh-based football club paid Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo around $213 million and another Saudi club reportedly offered 2022 World Cup Winner Lionel Messi a whopping amount to play in their country.

The present proposal to host a cricket league is also part of efforts to boost relations between India and Saudi Arabia, with the Middle Eastern country aiming to become India's top tourist destination by 2030.

Currently, United Arab Emirates is the preferred location for cricket matches in the Gulf region. The UAE also hosted the IPL during the Covid-19 outbreak in India, and they started their own T20 tournament, the ILT20, last year, with many IPL owners becoming stakeholders.

However, Saudi Arabian Cricket Federation chairman Prince Saud bin Mishal Al-Saud believes that Saudi Arabia will become a 'global cricket destination' in the coming years.

Here's how fans reacted to Saudi Arabia's investment interest in cricket: 

 

 

 

 

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