European T20 League ropes in Waugh, Maxwell as franchisee owners
The European T20 Premier League (ETPL) on Wednesday announced Australian cricket stars Steve Waugh and Glenn Maxwell along with hockey legend Jamie Dwyer as franchise owners of the tournament, which is scheduled to roll out later this year. The ETPL, a global multi-country franchise league backed by the cricket boards of the Netherlands (KNCB), Ireland (CI) and Scotland (CS) and co-founded by Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan, has been approved by the ICC.
The league, launched last year but set to take off only later this year, will be a six-team competition, involving 34 matches. The ETPL announced the names of the owners of its first three franchises — Amsterdam, Edinburgh and Belfast. The tournament is scheduled to begin in the late summer of 2026.
Amsterdam will be owned by a group led by Australian cricket great Waugh, former Australian hockey team captain Jamie Dwyer, an Olympic gold-medallist, and Tim Thomas, former CEO of the Centre for Australia-India Relations and former Partner at advisory services provider KPMG Australia. Edinburgh will be owned by former New Zealand internationals Nathan McCullum, and Kyle Mills. Belfast will be owned by Australian all-rounder Maxwell, together with Rohan Lund, former Group CEO of insurance company NRMA, alongside strategic partners to be announced in due course.
“I’ve always been selective about where I invest my time and energy in cricket. Franchise cricket has expanded quickly, but this opportunity stood out because it is driven by aspiration and long-term thinking,” Waugh said in a statement. “In many ways, it marks a return to the game for me — but in a very different role. This is about helping uphold the standards and spirit of cricket while supporting its growth into Europe, which remains the game’s last great frontier,” he added.
Maxwell said he is excited to own an Irish franchise. “I am thrilled to be involved with the Irish Wolves, where we will build a culture of fun, family and playing without fear. The Irish people love their sport and Cricket Ireland have made huge strides in expanding the game over the last two decades.
“The Wolves and the European T20 Premier League will accelerate that growth and I feel super proud to be leading the franchise in its inaugural year,” he said. The ETPL is owned and operated through a joint venture between Rules Global (“Rules X”) and Cricket Ireland, a full-time ICC member. The league has been co-founded by Bachchan, along with other partners — Saurav Banerjee, Priyanka Kaul and Dhiraj Malhotra.
