‘Bhai T20 leagues hi khelte rhoge kya’ – Fans react as Indian players likely to be allowed to play in Saudi Arabia’s richest T20 league

The richest T20 league in the world is set to be held in Saudi Arabia, and the owners of the Indian Premier League are expected to be approached with the concept. A Formula 1 race with the name Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was recently organised by the Saudi government. Now, it seems that they intend to make investments in a variety of sports to draw attention around the world.

In order to increase involvement, they have contacted the IPL owners and are also hoping that the Indian Cricket Board will permit Indian players to compete in their league. The Indian players are only permitted to compete in the IPL. According to The Age, conversations over the Saudi Arabian league have been going on for nearly a year. Any potential Gulf league would require approval from the top cricket organisation and all of its members.

Saudi Arabia has drawn criticism for trying to hide its dismal history with respect to human rights by making significant investments in international sports and events, most notably the Public Investment Fund’s purchase of Premier League side Newcastle United.

Cricket would work quite well for Saudi Arabia: Greg Barclay

The head of cricket’s governing body, Greg Barclay, previously claimed that Saudi Arabia was willing to invest heavily in cricket after heavily sponsoring other sports like football and Formula 1.

“If you look at other sports they’ve been involved in, cricket is something I imagine would be attractive to them. Given their advance into sport more generally, cricket would work quite well for Saudi Arabia. They’re pretty keen to invest in sport, and given their regional presence, cricket would seem a pretty obvious one to pursue,” said Barclay.

The ILT20, a T20 league created by the UAE, was also introduced last year, and many IPL owners became participants. Prince Saud bin Mishal Al-Saud, the president of the Saudi Arabian Cricket Organization, expects that Saudi Arabia would eventually become a “destination for global cricket.”

Here’s how fans reacted: