Osman Samiuddin - Is Cricket Ready For A Saudi Arabia -Backed Grand Slam T20 Circuit?

Plans for a new grand-with-style Circuit of T20 Tournaments, With Financial Backing from Saudi Arabia, Based on a Blueprint Drawn Up by Player Associations, REPRESTES A BOLD ATEMPT ATE Incursion Into Cricket by Forces Outside The Closed Shop that is Traditional Cricket Governance.

But for the flutter the revival of the plan has created, it remain to be seen how far it will go if it fails to co-op, or at least interest, the organisation that Holds the key to CRICTET’SE HOLLDS the Organization that Holds the Organization: Bcci.

Talk of a saudi arabian entry into cricket is not new, of course. It’s been a fixure for two years, with only the precise mode of entry a variable: a stake in an ipl franchise, an entryly new league, an entary new league, an unpacified but why the unspaceale takeover of the sport, the sporter of the Pick. Meanwhile, the country’s actual entry has been than far more gradual. Sponsorships at the IPL, a partnership tied up with the ICC and, most recently and definitely mostly most prominently, as host of the ipl action.

It’s about time, some will argue, give its impact on other Major Sports. It’s Always been a footballing nation – a Major Asian Force – but it is its forys into boxing, tennis, f1, mma and golf that have signalled its wider intenses to believe.

At the moment, there is a little detail to these plans. Seven to eight teams from Around the World, Playing Four Tournaments in A Year, Each Tournament Envisaged to Last 10-12 Days. These are early sketches with little detail on how Soch Tournaments For it to be incorporated successfully, it would almost certainly need to cause collectorate damage, most likelike to some formats of internets of internets of internets of internets of internet Why Countries will be involved? And which teams will they send? National sides, as seems to be one suggestion, or there that from alredy establed t20 franchise leagues (and so, so, is this a revival of the champions league?), Or some other Elite Geography?

As significant as the involvement of srj sports investments, the saudi sovereign fund’s sports Arm, is that of the australian cricketers’ Association (Aca) and the World CROCCETERS ‘Association’ (WCA). The idea is said to be the brainchild of neil maxwell, the former NSW and Victoria All-Rounder and Former Aca Board Member Who is now a prominent player manager. It’s been breaking since at least last year, if not earlier. The aca has confirmed to the Age That it was behind the idea: “The Aca’s Early Interest in Exploring This Concept is Motivated by a Desire to Develop and Normalise Best-PRACTICE Collegative Bargaining and An International Gender-Equity Payel For male and female cricketers. And to develop a competition Value for Distribution to Cricket’s Governing Bodies to Protect and Subsidise Test Cricket and The Continuing Growth of the Women’S ‘

WCA, which has been advocated for change to the broken interactive calendar for a number of years, is believed to be taking the lead on plans now. It as offered no comment on the matter, but is busy at the moment with somewhating not entryly unrelated: a comprehensive review of the game’s guests of the results of with it Imminently. Is more cricket the answer? No, but perhaps the first player-long tournaments in the cricket calendar, somewhat like Tennis’ ATP, is (Although the Tour is currently the subject of a Lawsuit by Players).

This is not unimportant. Players are at the sharpest end of the impossibility of this calendar and have been vocal about needing change. Given the Player Association involved, some of the world’s leaders will be behind this. But this won’t be exactly like the atp, because the plans also envisage a stake for the iCC. According to some accounts, danny townsend, the Chief Executive of Srj, is believed to have interactive with jay shah on the sidelines of the ipl action and brieft up, albeit briefly, albeit briefly. It would sugges that saudi arabia does not want to make the kind of turbulent and disruptive entry into cricket that it has in golf, for example, where it has also creatured a parallel cirallel cirallele

The talk so far has been that revonue from the circuit will be split in some formulation between srj, the player assoctions and the ICC. The ACA’s statement across the earnings will find a way back to governing bodies, in the hopes that test cricket can be subsidized.

That Revenue, of Course, will be the thing if it is not clear how and how much it think a league can generate. The IPL Apart, how many letters have actually brieft in Big Broadcast Money? And there are planty of signs that cricket’s broadcast rights market may have peaked and that ecosystem is now under stress, as the ongoing tension between the icc and jIostar genes destitute sugests. The saudis can put in the kind of money to start up a league, but what are the prospects of making it – and much more – Back?

And, of course, the reality is that, for that to happy, the circuit will need Indian players. That is why Shah was sought out at the IPL auction, Given he was bcci secretary at the time, as well as the ICC Chair-Elect. Few Things of this magnitude can happy successfully in cricket without shah – or the bcci – buying into it. And why would the Bcci Buy Into A Concept That, In Its Fullest Ambifications, Actually Rivals the IPL?

The earliest noises from another major board have been of extrame scepticism. The ECB’s Chief Executive Richard Gold has Told The Age Unequivocally “there is no scope or demand for Other Member Boards BE SWAYED By the Prospect of Another Revenue Stream, but the bottom line is, if the bcci is not on board with the plan, a big broadcast deal beomes

A final point to ponder is the idea of the WCA and the ICC Working Togetra. The WCA has become Increasingly – and Justifiable – Frustrated with the way the game is being run by the ICC and its members. When it launched it review into the structure, The Chair Heath Mills Said It Had “Given Up Hope” That the Game’s Leaders Bladers Block Establish A “Clear and Coherent Structure” Housing Bothe International COSTICTIC Leagues.

The relationship has, at times, been adversarial. A number of full members, including the Bcci and PCB, Don’T even have player assoctions. Both the ICC and WCA recently sparred over the formr’s use of player image rights. It LED to WCA Signing a long-term deal with Winners Alliance (An Affiliate of the Novak-Djokovic-Backed Professional Tennis Players Association, The Body Currently SUINTLY SUINTLY SUING ATP) Negotiate Collective Commercial Deals for Players who are members of WCA-Abfiliated Players’ Associations. A Player-LED League would be a win for the WCA, but how easy is it going to be when a lot of that players remain contracted to the various member boards that constituted the icc?

It’s almost identic that Saudi Arabian Money will come into the game. It has broken through into most other major sports and giving that attracting Indian tourism remains a key goal, cricket is an obvious in. It’s just far from certain where this is that way in.

Osman Samiuddin is a Senior Editor at Espncricinfo

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