Rahul Dravid Officially Named T20 Team Owner

Rahul Dravid announced ETPL team owner [Source: AFP]

Indian legend Rahul Dravid is set to mark his return to cricket with a brand-new T20 franchise as he embarks on a new journey, having worked in the IPL as a coach.

This time around, he will be co-owning a team in what is set to be a ground-breaking inaugural season of a league based in Europe, which will help the sport grow in the coming years. He has joined a list of former and current players owning teams ahead of the first season.

Rahul Dravid to own a European T20 franchise

On the evening of May 11, the legendary batter, with over 500 international matches for India, scoring over 24000 runs, was announced as the co-owner of the Indian consortium, which has bought the Dublin-based team in the inaugural European T20 Premier League.

The six-team competition will consist of teams from Ireland, the Netherlands, Scotland and Northern Ireland after the associates gave a good exhibition of their talent in the recent T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

Actor Abhishek Bachchan is a part-owner of this ETPL competition, and after being announced for July-August 2025, it was postponed to 2026. Dravid has shown great excitement about being on this side of cricket, where he wouldn’t be actively involved around the field.

“It's absolutely brilliant to be involved. When I first heard about this it was really exciting. I've always loved the passion and energy of cricket in Europe. The passion with which the players play the game.”

“I've seen the passion of grassroots, and the T20 World Cup has also shown the talent, too. That's something we can grow and build. It would be a dream to see the talent on the world stage,” he said.

Also Read: Steve Waugh invests in European T20 Premier League; Steve Smith, Mitch Marsh signed

Dravid’s old connection to cricket in Europe

Rahul Dravid’s connection to cricket in Europe dates back to the early 2000s, when he played for Scotland as their overseas professional against Hampshire in 2003. In his stint with the Scots, he had also scored a memorable 120 against Somerset and another 129 not out against Nottinghamshire.

Overall, he has some great memories from his time in the National Cricket League for Scotland, but given that he will be owning a Dublin-based team, the Scots will be his opponents that he would like to topple.

Cricketing community comes together for ETPL

In what could be one of the pivotal steps for globalising cricket, the ETPL will provide a plethora of opportunities for some of the finest associate talent in the world, who are unable to find their feet in the franchise T20 circuit.

Keeping it in mind, six teams from three countries will contest in the tournament, and the owners of these sides are some of the greats of the game. Notably, two team owners, Glenn Maxwell and Faf du Plessis will also captain their respective sides. The list of owners also include the Australian great, Steve Waugh and West Indies legend Chris Gayle.

These franchise have been sold to the owners for £11.1m each for a period of 10 years, promising long-term ambitions.

Also Read: ICC Unveils Annual Rankings; India At Top, Pakistan Slip