Gautam Adani's Group Plans To Buy Franchise In UAE T20 League
Businessman Gautam Adani’s The Adani Group is planning to buy a cricketing franchise in Emirates Cricket Board’s (ECB) marquee league, UAE T20 League. The business house had previously bid for one of the two new franchises in the IPL but failed to win it.
As per Cricbuzz, negotiations between ECB and Adani Group have reached an advanced stage and the deal could be closed within the next week. A source stated that Adani has sent the agreement papers over to the board and should have it back in about a week’s time.
The league currently has six franchises that are owned by Mukesh Ambani, Shah Rukh Khan, the Glazer family which owns Manchester United in the Premier League, Kiran Kumar Granthi of GMR, and Rajesh Sharma, owner of Capri Global company.
Other options ECB tried negotiating with apart from Gautam Adani’s group
In addition, ECB tried to make a deal with a few of the franchises from the IPL. The likes of Rajasthan Royals, Chennai Super Kings, and Sunrisers Hyderabad were all contacted for the sixth franchise in the league. Even BBL’s Sydney Sixers were in contention for the same.
However, Adani Group is now in the lead. The league had been planned for the month of January-February but it couldn’t be held due to the IPL 2022 mega auction. The UAE board is now considering other options but it all boils down to the availability of players.
The league is heavily dependent on its overseas players to pull the viewers in as there aren’t many local players who are well known in the cricketing world. However, the international cricketers will have national team commitments that they will have to honour.
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Indian Premier League (IPL)
