Adani becomes fourth Indian group to acquire franchise in UAE's T20 League

Follows RIL, GMR group and Capri Global; tournament likely to be launched in June

Adani Sportsline, a subsidiary of the Adani group, has acquired the rights to own and operate a franchise in the six-member UAE T20 League, it said on Monday. With this, it becomes the fourth Indian group after Reliance Industries (RIL), GMR group and Capri Global, a non-banking financial company based in Mumbai, to own teams in the Indian Premier League (IPL)-style tournament that is likely to commence in June.

RIL subsidiary Reliance Strategic Business Ventures had acquired the UAE T20 League franchise rights in November 2021, while GMR and Capri Global had bagged the team rights in February and March respectively. RIL owns the Mumbai Indians IPL franchise, while GMR co-owns Delhi Capitals.

"The UAE is an amazing amalgamation of several cricket loving nations. It provides an excellent platform for enhancing the visibility of cricket as the sport goes increasingly global,” Pranav Adani, managing director, agro, oil and gas and director, Adani Enterprises, said. "We are excited to be part of the UAE T20 league."

Adani will be the fifth franchise owner of the UAE T20 league, marking its first major foray into cricket overseas. Last year, the group had bid for the Lucknow and Ahmedabad franchises at the IPL, losing out to the RP Sanjiv Goenka group and CVC Capital Partners respectively. The former (RP Sanjiv Goenka group) had bagged the Lucknow team for Rs 7,100 crore, while CVC Capital had acquired the Ahmedabad franchise for Rs 5,166 crore.

Licensed by the Emirates Cricket Board, the UAE T20 league has Lancer Capital, the owners of Manchester United Football Club, as its fourth franchise owner.

"We are extremely pleased to have one of Asia's leading corporates as our franchise team owner," Mubashshir Usmani, the general secretary of the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB), said. "This is a resounding thumbs up to the unique opportunity that the UAE T20 league offers to experienced and established business owners. We are confident that this association will be mutually beneficial for both the Adani Group and the League," he said.

The six-team league, comprising 34 matches, was first intended to be played in the February-March period. However, sources in the know said that it could now start after the IPL concludes on May 29.