LONDON: Indian movie star Shah Rukh Khan added a third Twenty20 franchise team to his collection when he was named as one of the owners in the new eight-team South African Global League on Monday.
The Bollywood leading man expanded his established Knight Riders Brand with the purchase of the Cape Town franchise to add to the teams he already owns in Kolkata and Trinidad.
There was a further link to the Indian Premier League, the lucrative Twenty20 competition that has sparked similar tournaments in the Caribbean, Australia, Bangladesh and Pakistan too.
GMR Sports, the holding company that controls the IPL Delhi Daredevils, purchased the Johannesburg franchise.
Two Pakistan Super League owners, Fawad Rana of the Lahore Qalandar and Javed Afridi of the Peshawar Zalmi, have bought franchises in Durban and Benoni respectively.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong businessman Sushil Kumar bought the Bloemfontein franchise, with Dubai’s Ajay Sethi taking up the Port Elizabeth franchise.
Two of the franchises will be South African owned, with businessman Osman Osman now in charge of the Pretoria franchise and Brimstone, an investment company, now having the Stellenbosch franchise as part of its portfolio.
Shah himself was not present at the launch in London, a location that meant the South Africa marquee players attached to each of the eight teams could attend, with the Proteas currently on tour in England.
“We are thrilled by the international mix of owners and the passion and excitement that was clearly demonstrated during the bidding process by them and the marquee players,” said Cricket South Africa chief executive Haroon Lorgat.
The South Africa marquee players are Hashim Amla (Durban), Quinton de Kock (Benoni), AB de Villiers (Pretoria), Faf du Plessis (Stellenbosch), JP Duminy (Cape Town), David Miller (Bloemfontein), Kagiso Rabada (Johannesburg) and Imran Tahir (Port Elizabeth).
Meanwhile, the likes of South Africa-born England batsman Kevin Pietersen and former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum are also set to be two of the eight ‘international marquee’ players involved.
They, together with the current England ‘white-ball’ captain Eoin Morgan and fellow batsman Jason Roy, as well as Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard (all West Indies) plus Sri Lanka paceman Lasith Malinga are all set to enter into a mini-draft with the highest bidding franchise owner having first pick and the rest following the same process.
McCullum caused an unintentional moment of humor at the launch when he described himself as a “T20 mercenary,” with event host Alan Wilkins, the cricket broadcaster, jumping in to say “ambassador.”
The November-December timeframe for the tournament means leading Australian players are likely to be unavailable because of a clash with their home season, although that could change if there’s no resolution to their bitter pay dispute with Cricket Australia.
No India players are expected to take part either but more than 400 cricketers have registered their interest, with a draft scheduled for August.
Bollywood’s Shah Rukh Khan buys South Africa T20 franchise
Bollywood’s Shah Rukh Khan buys South Africa T20 franchise
ICC rejects Bangladesh demand to shift T20 World Cup matches outside India
- Bangladesh had refused to tour India, demanded to play World Cup matches in Sri Lanka
- Tensions surged after Bangladesh cricket star was dropped from Indian Premier League
NEW DELHI: The International Cricket Council on Wednesday rejected Bangladesh’s demand to shift their matches at next month’s Twenty20 World Cup outside India, dismissing any security threat to the team following political tensions between the South Asian neighbors.
Uncertainty loomed over the global showpiece after Bangladesh refused to tour India and demanded to play their matches in Sri Lanka, which is co-hosting the tournament.
The stalemate prompted an emergency ICC board meeting in which the governing body decided against tinkering with the tournament schedule.
“The decision was taken after considering all security assessments conducted, including independent reviews, all of which indicated there was no threat to Bangladesh players, media persons, officials and fans at any of the tournament venues in India,” the ICC said in a statement.
“The ICC board noted that it was not feasible to make changes so close to the tournament and that altering the schedule under the circumstances, in the absence of any credible security threat, could set a precedent that would jeopardize the sanctity of future ICC events...”
It leaves Bangladesh with the options of either changing their stance or getting replaced in the 20-team tournament beginning on Feb. 7.
Political relations have soured between the neighbors in recent times and Bangladesh player Mustafizur Rahman was dropped from this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) despite him signing for its Kolkata franchise.
Bangladesh responded by refusing to tour India and banning broadcasts of the IPL in the country.
An ICC delegation arrived in Dhaka last weekend to find a solution but the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) stuck to its guns.
“Despite these efforts, the BCB maintained its position, repeatedly linking its participation in the tournament to a single, isolated and unrelated development concerning one of its players’ involvement in a domestic league,” the ICC said alluding to Mustafizur’s IPL snub.
“This linkage has no bearing on the tournament’s security framework or the conditions governing participation in the T20 World Cup.”
Pakistan will play their World Cup matches in Sri Lanka in keeping with their policy of not touring India over geopolitical tension between the neighbors.
