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New Delhi: Dashing Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell and former skipper Steve Waugh have been named among owners of franchise teams in a new European Twenty20 league.
Approved by the International Cricket Council, the tournament is backed by the governing boards of Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands.
After two false starts, the European T20 Premier League's (ETPL) is expected to begin in August and founders include Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan.
Owners of three teams, which include the Amsterdam franchise owned by a group that includes Waugh and hockey star Jamie Dwyer, were unveiled in Sydney on Wednesday.
"Mainland Europe is not known for cricket. It's an opportunity to create a huge cricket ecosystem in and around Europe. With ETPL, we hope we can bring the magic of cricket euphoria to mainland Europe," Bachchan told Reuters.
Former New Zealand internationals Nathan McCullum and Kyle Mills bought the Edinburgh side while Maxwell became a co-owner of the Belfast franchise.
Europe has 33 member associations in ICC, most for any continent, which includes full members England and Ireland. Scotland and
Netherlands have played in World Cups, while Italy is set to make their T20 World Cup debut next month.
"Italy's World Cup qualification indicates Europe's interest in cricket, and cricket being in the 2028 Olympics is another boost for Europe. We hope to turn ETPL into one of the top T20 leagues in the world," Bachchan said.
Waugh hoped the Amsterdam franchise would serve as an inspiration for more Dutch kids to play the game.
"Franchise cricket has the world's best players playing with locals. At Amsterdam, the Dutch players will have the opportunity to play alongside players like Mitchell Marsh, the current Australia T20 captain, or Steve Smith, one of the all-time greats of the game. You can't buy that kind of experience," the two-time ODI World Cup winner told Reuters.
The league was initially conceived as Euro T20 Slam and planned to take off in 2019, last year it was again explored before being delayed for the second time.
