There’s more money in cricket than ever before, but there are fewer opportunities and pathways where they are needed most. It sounds absurd, but the reality is that cricket’s franchise dollars are concentrated in the Indian Premier League (IPL); its rupees lie with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), thanks to the Indian team’s enormous following; and its commercial alliances are limited to England and Australia.
While those who have cricketing currency are rapidly multiplying their piles with little innovation or effort, the geographies and stakeholders that need it most are scrambling to survive. The West Indies can barely organise domestic fixtures; Sri Lanka’s gorgeous Test grounds lie vacant for much of the year because playing the longest format costs money they don’t have. New Zealand’s players have to check with their franchise before committing to a series for their country.
Cricket has been loath to admit that it is a colonial sport. Its international footprint is a subset of the Commonwealth, and attempts to reach expatriates in North America or the population of China have proven futile. A glaring opportunity has existed in continental Europe, but it has been unattractive to the powers that be because they have never needed the votes of the Irish, the Scottish or the Dutch at the global boardroom table.
In 2019, the first private foray to fill this gap emerged with the Euro Slam T20, but the Covid-19 pandemic ensured the event was a non-starter. In 2025, when the European T20 Premier League stepped in, they realised that much more work was needed before they could put boots on the ground.
“We knew you’re not going to get very many chances at doing this for the first time. And we wanted to do it right,” Abhishek Bachchan, co-founder of ETPL, told ET Sport. “Initially, we felt we weren’t entirely ready. I’m very happy that I have like-minded cofounders who believe that the planning and preparation is the majority of a start.”
