Inaugural Edition Of Emirates T20x League Called Off
Nov 16, 2018 at 9:16 AM
The Emirates Cricket Board on Thursday (November 15) announced that the inaugural T20x League has been called off. The tournament was set to get underway in UAE next month.
The tournament had not only received the green light from the ICC but had also roped in some big names to feature in the league. Stalwarts likes Shahid Afridi, Kumar Sangakkara, Eoin Morgan, David Miller and Andre Russell were the icon players. But with everything in place, the ECB could not find buyers for three of the five franchises.
The ECB released an official statement to confirm the news. The board insisted that while the negotiations was at an advanced stage with the buyers there was not enough time to close out the deal.
“Whilst negotiations had been completed on two franchise teams and a further three were well advanced, it was felt that there was no longer sufficient time to close the sales process and to successfully deliver and promote a December event.” read a statement released by the ECB today.
Earlier this year, the chief executives committee (CEC) and the ICC Board had discussed – and reportedly come to a consensus on – limiting player participation to no more than three T20 leagues a year. According to the ECB’s statement, the decisions in the meeting affected the league as it suffered from regulatory uncertainty which eventually impacted commercial planning.
“The decision of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in July to explore potential limitations on T20 cricket leagues and player participation in them, meant that investment into UAE T20x had to be curtailed throughout the summer in anticipation of a decision. This in turn impacted timings around commercial conversations with potential franchise buyers.” read the statement.
As a result, the tournament was in a race against time. It was scheduled to get underway on December 19, just a day after the players’ draft on December 18. Worryingly, the organisers had also not struck a deal with the broadcasters.
The first season was set to feature 22 matches played over 24 days. Each of the five franchises was to comprise 16 players – six international and two emerging players from Full Member countries, three from Associate countries, two young players from the local domestic set-up and three UAE national cricketers.
Meanwhile, the T20x becomes the second Associate T20 league to be cancelled this year. Earlier this year, the 2018 Hong Kong T20 Blitz also suffered the same fate.