Plans to hold a European T20 franchise tournament this summer are to be shelved until 2026 because three potential owners are instead focusing on completing deals to buy team stakes in The Hundred.
The European T20 Premier League (ETPL), part owned by Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan, and involving city-based franchises from Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands, was set to start next month.
The six-team tournament was slated to take place from 15 July to 3 August but multiple sources have told BBC Sport the event will definitely not happen this year.
The project is being led by Cricket Ireland in collaboration with the boards of Scotland and the Netherlands.
Dublin, Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Amsterdam and Rotterdam were the designated venues for the ETPL, which promised to “elevate local talent, draw global superstars, and ignite a wave of cricketing enthusiasm across Europe”.
Deals for at least three of the six city-based franchises are understood to be very close to being signed off, and it was initially been hoped that once they were wrapped up, the remaining three would soon follow.
However, three of those potential ETPL franchise owners are also acquiring stakes in The Hundred and are said to have prioritised those deals.
In April, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) extended the deadline to complete sales of the Hundred franchises that were agreed earlier this year.
The knock-on effect of the delay in those sales is the postponement of the ETPL, with a formal announcement to confirm it has been rescheduled to be made within the next 48 hours.
Bollywood actor and film produce Bachchan was announced as part-owner of the ETPL in conjunction with Rules Sport Tech when it was launched in January.
Rules Sport Tech are a private Indian company who “promote and create high quality sports initiatives, tournaments and events”.
Mumbai-born Bachchan, 49, travelled to Dublin in March to promote the tournament via a series of media interviews and Instagram posts.
It is not the first time a European T20 franchise tournament involving the Dutch, Irish and Scottish cricket boards has struggled to get off the ground.
In 2019, the Euro T20 Slam – which had different backers – was postponed just over a fortnight before the opening game.
That came after team names were announced, a draft held and marquee players including Eoin Morgan were allocated to franchises.
The tournament was then postponed several times over subsequent years and never took place.
Organisers are buoyant about the ETPL’s prospects, even though no franchises have yet been sold, and are confident it will not be plagued by the same issues as the Euro T20 Slam.
Cricket Ireland, Cricket Scotland and the Royal Dutch Cricket Association all declined to comment.
