The new Saudi T20 league is a big deal, with around $400 million (about Rs 3442 crore) in funding. But it won’t get support from the BCCI or the England and Wales Cricket Board because they want to protect their main tournaments. According to The Guardian, during talks at the World Test Championship final, both boards decided they wouldn’t let players join this new league and would work to convince the ICC not to back it either.
It seems Cricket Australia was interested in teaming up with Saudi investors on this league. The plan is for SRJ Sports Investments from Saudi Arabia to invest $400 million to create this league, which will have eight teams and play four tournaments across different places each year. It’s been compared to tennis’s Grand Slams.
For Cricket Australia, the goal is to profit from this investment because their Big Bash League teams are owned by the governing body and state associations. In contrast, the IPL is a massive $12 billion business, and the ECB is set to make around £520 million ($700 million) from selling 49% of the eight franchises in ‘The Hundred.’
Cricket South Africa also made over £100 million ($136 million)