The Australian batters Steve Smith and Mitchell Marsh are among the stars to feature in the new Europe-based T20 league co-owned by Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan and Australian legends Steve Waugh and Glenn Maxwell.
The ETPL (European T20 Premier League) will be running, excluding Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands.
Former New Zealand player Kyle Mills and Nathan McCullum are owner of another franchise, with another three teams yet to be sold in the league which originally meant to launch last summer.
The three franchises are based in amsterdam, Belfast, and Edinburgh while the three remaining ones, once sold, will be based in Dublin, Rotterdam, and Glasgow.
Steve Waugh, made his first involvement in the game since his retirement over 20 years ago, is part of a consortium of investors who will own Amsterdam Flames, a group that includes former Australia field hockey great Jamie Dwyer.
“I am really excited to sign Mitchell Marsh as our captain for our initial couple of seasons,” Waugh said.
“He is a fantastic leader and T20 captain of Australia. We also have Steve Smith, a legend of the game and another captain of Australia. So they are massive signings straight up. We also have the Dutch captain Scott Edwards signed up with us.”
“Really it is the final frontier for cricket, Europe. There are 35 countries in Europe that play cricket and it is a chance to develop cricket there, but also to bring in global superstars.
“It is an exciting phase to be part of. Obviously there is the Indian Premier League and leagues all around the world, but nothing has happened in Europe so far.”
Meanwhile Glenn Maxwell has expressed his enthusiasm and outcomes saying that, “The Irish people love their sport and Cricket Ireland have made huge strides in expanding the game over the last two decades,” he said.
“The Wolves and the European T20 Premier League will accelerate that growth, and I feel super proud to be leading the franchise in its inaugural year.”
The inaugural edition of the EPTL is expected to run between August 26 and September 10. Australia are expected to travel to Africa in September for three match ODI series in Zimbabwe before a ODI series and three tests in South Africa.
