London: The ambitious Saudi T20 league, which is believed to be a USD 400 million project, won’t be backed by the BCCI or the England and Wales Cricket Board as they try to protect their respective flagship tourneys from getting diluted, British newspaper The Guardian has reported.
“During discussions at the World Test Championship final at Lord’s this month, the ECB and BCCI agreed to unite in opposing the new league. The boards agreed they would not issue ‘no objection certificates’ to their players to sign up for the new competition, as well as lobbying the ICC to withhold their endorsement,” the newspaper wrote.
Apparently, Cricket Australia (CA) was keen on partnering with Saudi investors. “Under plans that emerged in Australia this year, Saudi’s SRJ Sports Investments has pledged to inject USD 400m into the league, which would have eight teams playing four tournaments each year in a set-up that has been compared to Grand Slams,” it said.