European T20 Premier League: Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan, who is one of the European T20 Premier League (ETPL) co-founders, has hailed the inclusion of cricket in the Olympic Games as a "wonderful" development that will bridge the gap between the Indian subcontinent and the global sporting extravaganza.
Cricket will officially return to the Olympic Games at Los Angeles 2028, marking its second-ever Olympic appearance – 128 years after its debut in Paris 1900, when Great Britain claimed gold in a one-off match against France.
Abhishek noted that the move would allow the massive population of South Asia to engage more deeply with the Olympics.
"That's wonderful for the sport, because the population of the Indian subcontinent can tune in towards the Olympics. Cricket is a huge unifier and to have cricket in the Olympics, it's a great thing for the Olympics. So it's exciting times for the world of cricket," Abhishek told IANS.
Abhishek spearheads the ETPL, an ICC-sanctioned franchise-based tournament developed in partnership with Cricket Ireland, Cricket Scotland, and the Royal Dutch Cricket Association (KNCB).
The league has revealed its sixth franchise, Dublin Gladiators, which will be owned by former India legend and coach Rahul Dravid.
With this the league completed the lineup of six city-based franchises: Dublin, Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Amsterdam, and Rotterdam.
Speaking about the excitement surrounding the league, Abhishek said, "The response is good. We have announced our sixth team, which is Dublin Guardians. Rahul Dravid is the owner of the Dublin franchise. With this, our six teams in Dublin, Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Rotterdam and Amsterdam have been completed. The atmosphere here is very upbeat and everyone is very happy. Rahul has come to Dublin with a team. Our press interactions are going on, so the excitement is palpable."
Asked if it was tough to bring Dravid, who has a notoriously reserved personality, into the fold as a franchise owner, the actor said Dravid was "very, very positive" from the outset and his focus is on the technical side of the game rather than just the business aspect.
"It was not tough at all. The day we spoke to Rahul, he was very, very positive. All our negotiations and discussions were very positive. I especially liked the fact that everyone can talk about business, they have teams and negotiations are going on but his concentration was on the quality of cricket and the quality of players.
"That's why I was so happy that we went to Rahul to buy the team. We knew that his concentration was going to be on cricket. I am so happy to have him as one of the owners in the ETPL," said Abhishek.
"It was not tough at all. The day we spoke to Rahul, he was very, very positive. All our negotiations and discussions were very positive. I especially liked the fact that everyone can talk about business, they have teams and negotiations are going on but his concentration was on the quality of cricket and the quality of players.
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"The players who have BCCI contracts cannot play outside the IPL. We are going to miss our Indian players a lot in the ETPL, but apart from them, there are many other quality international players who have already committed for the ETPL. So we will be having some of the best cricket talent playing in the ETPL," he signed off.