Rahul Dravid Buys T20 Team In Europe, League Owner Abhishek Bachchan Reveals Why He Wanted Him

Much like Rahul Dravid's affairs, the launch of the newest franchise of the European T20 Premier League in Dublin was understated. Rahul Dravid was officially unveiled as owner of the Dublin franchise ahead of the league's 2026 launch. 'I wanted somebody like Rahul because of the kind of credibility and vision that he brings to anything that he does,' said Abhishek Bachchan, the Co-owner of ETPL in an EXCLUSIVE interview to NDTV

Despite BCCI's reservations about Indian players participating in leagues other than IPL, ETPL can now boast of one of the biggest signings, Ravi Ashwin. His retirement from professional cricket in India opened up this opportunity to ply his trade in Europe. He will feature as the Captain and Mentor of the Dublin franchise, one of the six star studded teams.

Bachchan's emphasis throughout the conversation was less about celebrity and more about ecosystem-building - a phrase leagues often use. How will ETPL be different from an already crowded franchise landscape? "To have people like Steve Waugh, Jonty Rhodes, Dravid on board just goes to show the intent of the ETPL," he said. "The kind of quality of people that we want in the ownership. Hence, that will dictate the kind of cricket and the way they help support players, young players and create new players from their local areas."

Launched in partnership with Cricket Ireland, Cricket Scotland, and the Royal Dutch Cricket Association, the ETPL will feature franchises from Dublin, Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Rotterdam, and Amsterdam. The larger ambition is to turn Europe into cricket's next major growth market.

This year the timing may actually help. ETPL will occupy an ICC-approved window between the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games - a slot Bachchan spoke about with noticeable confidence.

"They're around us. We're not around them," he joked. "That's the window the ICC gave us. That was the available window, and the last one of the year."

In practical terms, that window offers ETPL something every new league desperately needs, which is an available window during which top players turn up, as well as the global attention.

ETPL enters the scene with advantages like ICC backing, support from national boards, a protected calendar window, and perhaps most importantly, people whose reputations carry weight in cricket rooms.

Bachchan says that the Dravid-Ashwin association is not about garnering the Indian audience or having a footprint in India. Rahul Dravid has rarely attached himself to projects without developmental value.

The former Indian Captain 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."

Ashwin, meanwhile, remains one of cricket's sharpest tactical minds - someone deeply invested in conversations around coaching, mentoring, and the game's evolution.

The league's credibility has already attracted names like Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith and Mitchell Santner, Glenn Maxwell, Faf du Plessis, Heinrich Klaasen, Liam Livingstone and Tim David- some as investors and others as players.

Scheduled from August 26 to September 20, 2026, ETPL will feature 33 matches, with six city-based franchises.

Bachchan has already had a successful foray into Kabaddi, he is looking to bring in some of the success formula to T20 cricket in Europe as well.

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