THE OWNERS AND THE PLAYERS
Shah Rukh Khan – Cape Town. Marquee SA player: JP Duminy
Get ready for the mother of all parties for “King Khan” is coming to town! The Bollywood superstar, who also IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders and CPL franchise Trinibago Knight Riders, has now added the Cape Town T20 Global League franchise to his stable. Estimated worth close to $600 million (R7.8bn), Shah Rukh Khan gave Capetonians a taste of the bling he brings to cricket when he parked his orange Lamborghini outside the President Suite at Newlands when the Knight Riders played a couple of IPL matches here in 2009.
Fawad Rana – Durban. Marquee SA player: Hashim Amla
A true cricket lover, who also owns Pakistan Super League side Lahore Qalandars, where former South African mental conditioning coach Paddy Upton is coach. Fawad Rana has also set up a talent hunt with Australian Big Bash franchise Sydney Thunder, where Upton is the head coach too. Rana is the MD of QALCO ( Qatar Oil Company Ltd.) with a net worth of $24m.
GMR Group – Johannesburg. Marquee SA player: Kagiso Rabada
GMR Group is an infrastructural company headquartered in Bengaluru that also has projects in countries all over the world including South Africa. It has made a significant impact in cricket circles in recent years after the acquisition of IPL side the Delhi Daredevils. Upton is head coach of the Daredevils too.
Javed Afridi – Benoni. Marquee SA player: Quinton de Kock
The Pakistani-born businessman who graduated from London School of Economics and Regent’s University London, amongst other prestigious institutions, is a passionate cricket supporter. A big investor in the Pakistan Super League, and owner of the Penshawar Zalmi franchise, Afridi is ready to make a big play in the T20 Global League. He is the CEO of Haier Pakistan – a major electronics and home appliances company.
Osman Osman – Pretoria. Marquee SA player: AB de Villiers
South African businessman. Owner of a lifestyle brand.
Ajay Sethi – Port Elizabeth. Marquee SA player: Imran Tahir
The Dubai-based businessman is the Chairman of Channel 2, who recently signed an eight-year deal with the ICC for exclusive global radio coverage. Sethi also has other sport interests as he was part of conglomerate that owns the tennis franchise Singapore Slammers. Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar is one of the Slammers’ founders.
Mustaq Brey – Stellenbosch. Marquee SA player: Faf du Plessis
A born-and-bred Capetonian from Wynberg – Brey’s sister owns the Bibis restaurant – is a chartered accountant who was forced to study through Unisa and not at one of South Africa’s acclaimed universities due to Apartheid. Chairman of Brimstone Investment Company, Brey and his partners have turned local shop owners, fishermen and teachers into millionaires after they entrusted them with their life savings back in 1998.
Sushil Kumar – Bloemfontein. Marquee SA player: David Miller
Kumar is a Hong-Kong based director of Corporation City Sports