London: Cricket South Africa’s new T20 Global league owners and marquee players were announced through a colourful function held at The Bvlgari London Hotel with Dubai-based Channel 2 group chairman Ajay Sethi buying the Port Elizabeth team.
Two Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchises and two Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises are among the owners of the eight teams that were unveiled here.
Durban, Benoni, Pretoria, Stellenbosch, Cape Town, Bloemfontein, Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth will be the cities that will contest in the league.
Speaking to Gulf News, Sethi said: “Port Elizabeth is a beautiful city revolving around the ocean and is deeply entrenched with interesting cricket history. I am very pleased and proud to represent this city as my franchise team. I would like to extend my thanks to Cricket South Africa for accepting our bid to become part of this exciting T20 Global league.”
Sethi added: “As Channel 2 group is based in Dubai and lot of players transit through Dubai, we will hold training in Dubai. The ICC Academy has great facilities for training.”
Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, who owns Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, has added glamour to the league by buying the Cape Town franchise. Meanwhile, The Delhi Daredevils’ holding company GMR sports bought the Johannesburg franchise.
Two South African businessmen and a Hong Kong businessman are among the other owners. Speaking during the function, Haroon Lorgat, the Chief Executive Officer of the Cricket South Africa, said: “We are thrilled by the international mix of owners and the passion and excitement that was clearly demonstrated during the bidding process by them and the marquee players. It sets up our T20 Global League as a fans favourite in the cricketing calendar.”
Sethi has roped in the world’s top ranked spinner Imran Tahir as the marquee player of his team. “We chose Tahir because he is a lively character on the field and one of the best T20 bowlers in the world today,” said Sethi, who also revealed that viewership times for the T20 Global League will be suitable for not only the UAE but the whole of Asia.
Shah Rukh Khan’s Cape Town will have JP Duminy as the marquee player and the South African team captain AB De Villiers is the marquee player of the Pretoria team. The other marquee players are Hashim Amla (Durban), Kagiso Rabada (Johannesburg), Quinton de Kock (Benoni), Faf du Plessis (Stellenbosch) and David Miller (Bloemfontein).
The player draft is scheduled for August 19, with almost 400 players from 10 countries confirming their interest. The T20 Global league is scheduled to be held during November-December this year.
“Competition was stiff, with more than 150 Expressions of Interest (EOI) received from around the world and a shortlist of heavy hitters to consider, but after rigorous discussions and engagement with each of the potential owners, we are certain that our final eight owners have the perfect combination of strategic insight and passion needed to make the first T20 Global League a complete success,” said Cricket South Africa President Chris Nenzani.
