India Legends Invest In European T20 League To Make Inaugural Edition Spectacular

Rahul Dravid and Ravichandran Ashwin to invest in Scottish franchise team [Source: BCCI/X.com]

The European T20 Premier League is set to get a huge boost from the Indian cricketing fraternity. The legendary Indian players Rahul Dravid and Ravichandran Ashwin are emerging as the latest duo interested in joining the inaugural season of the tournament.

The ETPL season 1 is scheduled to be played later this year, with teams from Ireland, the Netherlands, Northern Ireland, and Scotland participating. This is set to revolutionise the sport in Europe and help in the growth of associate nations, who showed great promise in the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026.

Dravid-Ashwin to be involved in ETPL

As per the latest report from the BBC, the duo of Rahul Dravid and Ravichandran Ashwin, who are known to have great off-the-ground camaraderie, are looking to invest in the ETPL.

The two are likely to invest in the Scottish T20 franchise, based in Glasgow, after several other former international stars have invested in the league. Faf du Plessis, Heinrich Klaasen and Jonty Rhodes are also likely to buy the Rotterdam-based Dutch team in the league.

It is expected that the deals will soon go through by the end of March and will subsequently be announced.

If the Dravid-Ashwin duo invest in a team, they will join Steve Waugh and Glenn Maxwell, who have already announced as owners of a team. Prominent Indian cinema name, Abhishek Bachchan, is the co-founder of the ETPL.

Also Read: Ravi Ashwin Busts Gautam Gambhir's Viral Claim, Presents Strong Evidence

New chapter in Ashwin’s involvement in overseas leagues

Previously, in 2025, after R Ashwin announced his retirement from the IPL, he expressed his desire to explore opportunities in overseas leagues. He was also announced as one of the Sydney Thunders’ overseas players before he eventually sustained a knee injury, ruling him out of the competition.

This step of buying the Glasgow-based team could also see Ashwin playing the tournament alongside some exciting young as well as established stars. However, it will be interesting to see if he is allowed to invest as well as play in the tournament.

The off-break bowling all-rounder hung up his boots in international cricket in the middle of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024/25, putting curtains on his 106-match Test career, picking up 537 wickets. In 116 ODIs, he got 156 scalps and 72 wickets in 65 T20Is. He also scored 3503 Test runs to go with 707 ODI runs and 184 T20I runs to his name.

Dravid’s Scotland connection

The 53-year-old’s interest in being involved in the Scottish side brings back memories of his time in Scotland back in 2003. The former India player had spent time as an overseas professional in Scotland and played limited-overs county cricket for them

During his time in Scotland, he played 11 matches in the National Cricket League, accumulating 600 runs and racking up three triple-digit scores.

In a 16-year-long, illustrious international career, Dravid played 164 Tests for his 13288 runs, averaging 52.31. In 344 ODIs, he scored 10889 runs and retired from international cricket in 2012

He went on to coach India at all levels, lifting the 2018 U19 World Cup, before eventually taking up the role in the senior team from 2021 to 2024. Under his tenure, India reached the final of the World Cup 2023 and won the T20 World Cup 2024.

Also Read: Wankhede Extravaganza Powers Sanju Samson To Equal Virat Kohli's T20 World Cup Record