FORMER INDIA CAPTAIN, Rahul Dravid has been announced as the owner of Dublin Guardians in the European T20 Premier League (ETPL), ahead of the league’s launch in August 2026.
The six-team league, launched in partnership with Cricket Ireland, Cricket Scotland, and the Royal Dutch Cricket Association, features franchises from Dublin, Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Rotterdam, and Amsterdam. It is Europe’s first ICC-sanctioned multi-country franchise T20 league.
Rahul Dravid said, “What attracted me to ETPL was the larger vision behind it, the opportunity to help grow cricket in Europe by strengthening grassroots development and creating pathways for emerging talent across Ireland and Europe. Dublin already has a passionate cricketing community and enormous potential for growth. Nurturing the next generation has always been important to me, and I believe ETPL can play a meaningful role in that journey.”
The league is co-owned by Abhishek Bachchan, with franchise owners including Glenn Maxwell, Steve Waugh, Chris Gayle, Jonty Rhodes, Faf du Plessis, and Heinrich Klaasen. Du Plessis and Maxwell will also play, alongside Steven Smith, Mitchell Marsh, Tim David, Mitchell Santner, and Liam Livingstone.
“When they come to the cricket, the quality has got to be of a high standard, but the experience of everything else at that venue has to be top-notch. Because we are competing with some very, very established sports,” Dravid said.
