The franchise-based cricket leagues around the world are in a state of flux. The biggest impact on this is the IPL, where cricketers are eager to play. Why not? IPL means a lot of money.In terms of money as well as popularity and stardom, there is no league that is comparable to the IPL at the moment. As a result, India's dominance in cricket is increasing day by day. Their income from the ICC is also several times higher than that of any other country. Except for a few big teams, the others are suffering.
Former Australian Cricketers Association board member Neil Maxwell has taken the initiative to solve this problem. Another identity of 57-year-old Maxwell is the manager of Australian captain Pat Cummins. He also has a big contribution in establishing a T20 league in the United States. Australian media The Age reported that Neil Maxwell has been secretly working on a plan for a year. According to the plan, he will launch a Saudi Arabia-based T20 league on the model of the tennis Grand Slam. Saudi Arabia's state-owned sports investment company SRJ Sports Investments will invest $5 billion (Tk 6069 crore in Bangladeshi currency) in this. Discussions are also underway between the ICC and the Saudi cricket authorities in this regard.
Tennis has four Grand Slams a year - the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. Similarly, Saudi Arabia is planning to organize a cricket league in four different countries at different times of the year. There will be a women's tournament as well as a men's tournament. The final may be held in Saudi Arabia.
SRJ Sports Investments is part of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. They have committed $1 trillion (Tk 12.139 trillion) to expand the sports arena.
The main goal of the planned T20 league is to create new revenue sources and spread cricket. It can play a role in addressing major challenges such as ensuring the economic status of cricket, especially outside India, Australia and England. It is believed that through this, the financially weak cricket boards will overcome the crisis.
It is not yet known when this league will start. However, if it wants to see the light of day, it will definitely have to face some obstacles. Because, for this, the green signal of ICC and Cricket Australia (CA) will be needed. BCCI will also have to be convinced to give a no-objection certificate to Indian players. Ultimately, the final decision will have to be relied on ICC Chairman Jay Shah.
International analysts have been claiming that Saudi Arabia's image around the world has been tarnished due to human rights violations in recent years. To restore its reputation, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has started investing a lot of money in sports, which is called 'sports washing'. The Middle Eastern country has invested huge amounts of money in football, golf, boxing, tennis, racing and many other sports.
This year's IPL mega auction was held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has also won the rights to host the 2034 Football World Cup. It is rumored that the country will also bid to host the 2036 Olympics.
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