After the Major League Cricket, former India cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin has joined Dublin Guardians as the captain and mentor for the inaugural season of the European T20 Premier League (ETPL). Ashwin will be part of the league along with Faf du Plessis, Mitchell Marsh and Steven Smith as a direct signing.
The iconic India spinner announced his international retirement during the Border-Gavaskar series 2024-25 and called time on his IPL career at the end of the 2025 season. Ashwin will join the franchise in the ETPL, which is owned by former India captain and T20 World Cup-winning coach Rahul Dravid.
The league features six teams and is Europe’s first ICC-sanctioned multi-country franchise T20 league. It was launched by Cricket Ireland, Cricket Scotland and Royal Dutch Cricket Association in partnership and features teams from Dublin, Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Rotterdam and Amsterdam.ย
Du Plessis captain and co-owner of Rotterdam Dockers
Meanwhile, South African star Faf du Plessis has joined hands with compatriot Heinrich Klaasen to co-own the Rotterdam Dockers, with the former also being the captain of the franchise. Donovan Ferreira and Anrich Nortje are also part of the team.ย
Glasgow Cosmic have talents in Lungi Ngidi, left-arm speedster Duan Jansen and left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj. The Amsterdam Flames feature Australia T20 captain Mitchell Marsh and former skipper Steve Smith, while in-form batter Mitchell Owen is in Rotterdam.
The Edinburgh Castle Rockers will be boosted by the additions of Mitchell Santner and Trent Boult, with the New Zealand spinner also being the captain of the franchise.
The league is rapidly establishing itself as one of the most anticipated new competitions in world cricket, set to debut across six European cities this August. Across 33 matches, six city-based franchises Glasgow, Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Dublin, Belfast, and Rotterdam will vie for honours in what marks a watershed moment for the sport in Europe.ย For the unversed, the ETPL is backed by a renowned Bollywood actor, Abhishek Bachchan, who is the co-owner of the league. The six franchises will be filling their squads at the July 2 draft. The tournament will begin on August 26 and will be played in Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands. The final will be held on September 20.
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