Plans to carry a European T20 franchise match this summer time are to be shelved till 2026 as a result of three potential homeowners are as an alternative specializing in finishing offers to purchase crew stakes in The Hundred.
The European T20 Premier League (ETPL), half owned by Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan, and involving city-based franchises from Eire, Scotland and the Netherlands, was set to start out subsequent month.
The six-team match was slated to happen from 15 July to three August however a number of sources have advised BBC Sport the occasion will certainly not occur this yr.
The undertaking is being led by Cricket Eire in collaboration with the boards of Scotland and the Netherlands.
Dublin, Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Amsterdam and Rotterdam had been the designated venues for the ETPL, which promised to “elevate native expertise, draw world superstars, and ignite a wave of cricketing enthusiasm throughout Europe”.
Offers for not less than three of the six city-based franchises are understood to be very near being signed off, and it was initially hoped that when they had been wrapped up, the remaining three would quickly observe.
Nevertheless, three of these potential ETPL franchise homeowners are additionally buying stakes in The Hundred and are stated to have prioritised these offers.
In April, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) prolonged the deadline to finish gross sales of the Hundred franchises that had been agreed earlier this yr.
The knock-on impact of the delay in these gross sales is the postponement of the ETPL, with a proper announcement to verify it has been rescheduled to be made throughout the subsequent 48 hours.
Bollywood actor and movie produce Bachchan was introduced as part-owner of the ETPL together with Guidelines Sport Tech when it was launched in January.
Guidelines Sport Tech are a non-public Indian firm who “promote and create top quality sports activities initiatives, tournaments and occasions”.
Mumbai-born Bachchan, 49, travelled to Dublin in March to advertise the match by way of a collection of media interviews and Instagram posts.
It’s not the primary time a European T20 franchise match involving the Dutch, Irish and Scottish cricket boards has struggled to get off the bottom.
In 2019, the Euro T20 Slam – which had totally different backers – was postponed simply over a fortnight earlier than the opening sport.
That got here after crew names had been introduced, a draft held and marquee gamers together with Eoin Morgan had been allotted to franchises.
The match was then postponed a number of occasions over subsequent years and by no means occurred.
Organisers are buoyant in regards to the ETPL’s prospects, though no franchises have but been bought, and are assured it is not going to be stricken by the identical points because the Euro T20 Slam.
Cricket Eire, Cricket Scotland and the Royal Dutch Cricket Affiliation all declined to remark.
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