‘Visit Saudi’ is a major sponsor for the ongoing Indian Premier League. Saudi oil giant Aramco has had sponsorship deals with the International Cricket Council (ICC) and BCCI and Saudi Arabia has set the goal of becoming the No.1 tourist destination for India by 2030
Saudi Arabia wants to hold world’s richest cricket tournament. Indian Express reported that Saudi officials have held meetings with Indian Premier League team owners to start the cricket tournament in the Gulf nation.
For Saudi Arabia, staging a cricket tournament follows the holding of the Formula One races. Saudi Arabia owns Newcastle United and it has brought Cristiano Ronaldo to play in the domestic league.
‘Visit Saudi’ is a major sponsor for the ongoing Indian Premier League. Saudi oil giant Aramco has had sponsorship deals with the International Cricket Council (ICC) and BCCI and Saudi Arabia has set the goal of becoming the No.1 tourist destination for India by 2030.
IPL franchises are already involved in overseas T20 leagues from UAE, South Africa, USA and the Caribbean – but BCCI does not allow Indian players to feature in any other domestic competition in the format fearing it will diminish the IPL’s brand value.
If top Indian stars play in an overseas domestic league, it could turn out to be the real game-changer. However, if reports from the BCCI are to be believed, allowing Indian players to play in Saudi Arabia will not be permitted. “No current Indian players will be taking part in any of the leagues, but as far as franchise participation is concerned, we can’t stop them, a top BCCI official told The Indian Express. “It’s their individual decision. We have seen IPL franchises going to South Africa or Dubai and we can’t say no. It’s their choice to have their team in any of the leagues around the world.”
-
Any progress in having an official Saudi-based T20 league needs the blessings of the ICC and the member countries
-
There has been a mushrooming of such competitions of late, of varying quality and prize money. Apart from those staged by Full Member nations, off-shore leagues in places such as Canada, UAE and now coming up in the USA, have the potential to relegate international cricket, considered the cornerstone of the game not too long ago, to the margins of international cricket
-
IPL chairperson Arun Singh Dhumal has said he is not averse to the idea of two editions of the tournament in a year. “If there’s a window for a second IPL, we will definitely look at that,” he told The Indian Express Idea Exchange recently
The BCCI providing technical knowhow in organising a T20 league could be a start, with IPL franchises getting another market to invest. Everyone is looking out for ownership opportunities in other countries, a franchise official said. “From a franchise’s perspective, that’s the direction it’s going. I don’t think there’s a single franchise that’s one-dimensional.”
While welcoming the prospect of having a league in Saudi, the official felt that the immediate concern is that about infrastructure. “At the moment, we don’t know if they have enough stadiums to conduct a league of this magnitude.”
As of now, the UAE is the major cricketing destination in the gulf region and has hosted the T20 World Cup, IPL, Asia Cup and even bilateral series involving Full Member Nations. It also houses the ICC headquarters and has impressive cricket infrastructure and stadia in venues such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.
Saudi Arabia doesn’t have such infrastructure, but plans to set the ball rolling in this regard. “Our aim is to create a sustainable industry for locals and expats living in the Kingdom and make Saudi Arabia a global cricketing destination,” Saudi Arabian Cricket Federation chairman Prince Saud bin Mishal Al-Saud has been quoted as saying by Arab News.
“One of our biggest plans is to have a proper infrastructure for the game, since we don’t have it today. We are planning to have cricket academies, more grounds, better facilities with entertainment and other services around them to attract Saudi as well as foreign youth to the game…One of our biggest objectives is to bring better quality of life for expatriates working here. We have about eight million people from Asian countries where cricket is the most popular game, places such as India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka,” he added.
The kingdom has the money and its interest in investing in the sport has been welcomed by the ICC. “If you look at other sports they’ve been involved in, cricket is something I imagine would be attractive to them,” ICC chair Greg Barclay was quoted as saying.
Given their advance into sport more generally, cricket would work quite well for Saudi Arabia. They’re pretty keen to invest in sport, and given their regional presence, cricket would seem a pretty obvious one to pursue.”
Any progress in having an official Saudi-based T20 league needs the blessings of the ICC and the member countries. There has been a mushrooming of such competitions of late, of varying quality and prize money. Apart from those staged by Full Member nations, off-shore leagues in places such as Canada, UAE and now coming up in the USA, have the potential to relegate international cricket, considered the cornerstone of the game not too long ago, to the margins of international cricket. IPL chairperson Arun Singh Dhumal has said he is not averse to the idea of two editions of the tournament in a year. “If there’s a window for a second IPL, we will definitely look at that,” he told The Indian Express Idea Exchange recently.
*********************************************************
Readers
These are extraordinary times. All of us have to rely on high-impact, trustworthy journalism. And this is especially true of the Indian Diaspora. Members of the Indian community overseas cannot be fed with inaccurate news.
Pravasi Samwad is a venture that has no shareholders. It is the result of an impassioned initiative of a handful of Indian journalists spread around the world. We have taken the small step forward with the pledge to provide news with accuracy, free from political and commercial influence. Our aim is to keep you, our readers, informed about developments at ‘home’ and across the world that affect you.
Please help us to keep our journalism independent and free.
In these difficult times, to run a news website requires finances. While every contribution, big or small, will makes a difference, we request our readers to put us in touch with advertisers worldwide. It will be a great help.
For more information: pravasisamwad00@gmail.com