Cricket’s next big frontier is not in Mumbai, Chennai or Karachi. It is in Dublin, Belfast, Edinburgh and Rotterdam. And leading the charge from Ireland’s capital is none other than Rahul Dravid, the man who spent 30 years making batting look like an act of quiet discipline, and is now bringing that same philosophy to franchise ownership.
On Monday, the European T20 Premier League (ETPL) officially unveiled Dravid as owner of Dublin Guardians, completing the six-team franchise structure of Europe’s first ICC-sanctioned multi-country T20 league ahead of its 2026 launch. The announcement was made at a landmark event in Dublin, attended by ETPL co-founders Abhishek Bachchan, Saurav Banerjee, Priyanka Kaul and Dhiraj Malhotra, alongside franchise owners, and senior leaders from Cricket Ireland, Cricket Scotland and the Royal Dutch Cricket Association.
Ask Dravid what kind of owner he plans to be, and he does something refreshingly un-owner-like. He laughs.
“So we’ll only know when that happens. We’ll only know how I will be because it’s going to be my first opportunity and experience,” he told PTI.
Despite three decades at the top of the game, as a player, as India’s head coach, and as a highly regarded mentor in franchise cricket, Dravid is clear that his new role demands a deliberate step back.
“I think honestly, the plan is for me to not actually get involved in the cricketing side of things. So to put together a good team that can do the job on a day-to-day basis. You certainly won’t see me in the dugout. And I’m not someone who’s going to be there at every practice session. Or for that matter, not there for even every game,” Dravid said.
DRAVID BACKS ASHWIN
Central to his plan is Ravichandran Ashwin, whom Dublin Guardians have signed as captain and mentor. Dravid’s pitch for his own role is essentially to build the scaffolding and then get out of Ashwin’s way.
“I think we’re lucky to have signed on someone like Ashwin as a captain and a mentor. And we’ll put a team around him that will allow him to lead the team and run the team in the way that he wants to,” Dravid said.
“My job will really be to put together a team both on the field and, of course, there’s a lot of work that needs to be done at a franchise level off the field. Which, for me, will be the priority and the focus. And sort of let Ashwin and the experts that we pick, let them manage and run the cricket.
“So that is certainly the direction and the plan and the role that I see for myself,” he said.
It is a mindset shaped by years of watching owners operate from both sides of the boundary rope. As a coach in franchise cricket, Dravid has seen the full spectrum: from the passionately hands-on to the quietly observant. Clearly, he has taken notes.
The ETPL itself is no small endeavour. A joint venture between Cricket Ireland and Rules Global, the league features a star-studded franchise ownership structure.
Glenn Maxwell and entrepreneur Rohan Lund own the Belfast franchise. Former New Zealand cricketers Kyle Mills and Nathan McCullum, alongside Rachel Wiseman, are behind Edinburgh. Glasgow is co-owned by businessman Vipul Aggarwal and the inimitable Chris Gayle. Amsterdam brings together Steve Waugh, hockey legend Jamie Dwyer and Tim Thomas. Rotterdam’s franchise is co-owned by Jonty Rhodes, Faf du Plessis, and partners Glashin and Samir Shah, with Madhukar Shree as Managing Partner.
On the field, the league expects to feature names like Mitchell Marsh, Tim David, Liam Livingstone, Heinrich Klaasen and Mitchell Santner, giving European and Associate Nation players a rare chance to share a dressing room with the world’s best.
– Ends
