DUBAI: The Emirates Cricket Board Thursday completed its calibrated announcements of the owners in the ECB’s upcoming franchise-based T20 League. Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) will now have a sister team in the UAE T20 league as the Knight Riders Group (KRG) have acquired the rights to own and operate the Abu Dhabi franchise.
KRG has named its team in the UAE T20 League as the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (ADKR).
The other five companies that were earlier confimed as team owners are: Lancer Capital, owners of Manchester United Football Club, Reliance Strategic Business Ventures Limited, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited, owners of Mumbai Indians, GMR Group, co-owners of Delhi Capitals, Capri Global, a non-banking financial company based in India and Adani Sportsline, a part of the diversified Adani Group.
The Knight Riders Group, which boasts Bollywood “badshah” Shah Rukh Khan as its principal stakeholder, along with fellow actor Juhi Chawla and her husband Jay Mehta as co-owners, already owns the Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).
The group, which is also a founder investor in Major League Cricket (MLC), USA Cricket’s official upcoming franchise league that has Times Group as the major stakeholder, has confirmed plans to construct a new cricket stadium in Southern California near Los Angeles. KRG will reportedly be investing $30 million in what, when completed, will be a 10,000-capacity cricket facility.
In a statement released by the UAE T20 League, Shahrukh Khan said: “For several years now, we have been expanding the Knight Riders brand globally and closely watching the potential for T20 cricket in the UAE. We are excited about becoming part of UAE’s T20 League, which no doubt will become hugely successful.”
The UAE T20 League is a professional franchise-based T20 format cricket tournament where six teams will be competing in a 34-match event.
Related Reports
Adani Sportsline acquires franchise in UAE T20 League
Knight Riders Group to invest $30m in cricket stadium near LA
