T20 Global League owners unveiled
T20 GLOBAL LEAGUE: OWNERS FROM FIVE DIFFERENT COUNTRIES SIGN UP
Faf du Plessis hopes tournament will keep SA players at home. London
The new T20 Global League to be held in South Africa at the end of the year will have the most cosmopolitan feel of any of the T20 tournaments around the world as team owners from five different countries were unveiled at a function in an upmarket Knightsbridge hotel in England’s capital yesterday.
Cricket South Africa’s desire for the bulk of the franchises to be locally-owned has played second fiddle to the rewards of big overseas investment, with the eight team owners coming from Pakistan (two), India (two), Hong Kong and Dubai.
The two teams based in Pretoria and Stellenbosch will have South African owners.
“It’s really important that there is local investment from a South African point of view, but the foreign interest means we’ll be playing in front of much bigger audiences. It places a much bigger emphasis on South African cricket, especially for our domestic players. It should keep most of our players in the country now because the T20 Global League provides a huge step forward in terms of opportunity and financially,” Proteas captain Faf du Plessis, who will be playing for the Stellenbosch franchise, said.
There are drawbacks, however, that come with the overseas investment, with the foreign team-owners having no real answer to questions about transformation imperatives.
Both the Pakistani team owners – their teams will be based in Durban and Benoni – spoke about T20 cricket being the answer to the problems besetting their game. Even though Pakistan’s memorable Champions Trophy triumph at the weekend had London’s large cricket fanbase abuzz, their game is still faced with the problems of not being able to host games due to security concerns.
The Pakistan Super League has attracted some overseas players back and both Fawad Rana (Durban) and Javed Afridi (Benoni) spoke about their involvement in the T20 Global League improving the image of cricket in their troubled country.
Shah Rukh Khan (KKR), Cape Town, JP Duminy
Fawad Rana (Lahore Qalandars), Durban, Hashim Amla
GMR Group (Delhi Daredevils), Johannesburg, Kagiso Rabada
Javed Afridi (My Sports World/ Peshawar Zalmi), Benoni, Quinton de Kock
Osman Osman (SA Consortium), Pretoria, AB de Villiers
Ajay Sethi (Channel 2), Port Elizabeth, Imran Tahir
Mustaq Brey (Brimstone Investment Corporation), Stellenbosch, Faf du Plessis
Sushil Kumar (City Sports), Bloemfontein, David Miller