INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
It&s been almost a week since the maiden match in the International League T20 in the United Arab Emirates and while stadiums haven&t as yet
filled up, the stakeholders & players, franchise owners, sponsors and broadcasters alike & are happy with it so far.Venky Mysore, the CEO of
Abu Dhabi Knight Riders, part of the Knight Riders brand with a presence in various T20 leagues, said in an interview with Cricbuzz: &Optics
may not be great but all the franchises are happy with the business model and how it is being organized.&It is the only tournament where the
owners will not suffer losses like other leagues happening simultaneously,& he said.But without any major Indian, Pakistani or Bangladeshi
participation, the crowds have been staying away
However, television audiences have been strong
&The tournament has been doing very well back home in India
There were 1.5 million concurrent viewers for the opening ceremony in which some international stars performed
Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, the owner of Knight Riders, was a huge hit,& says an official of Zee TV, the broadcasters of the
league.Emirates Cricket Board&s secretary general Mubashir Usmani told Cricbuzz the fun is yet to come
&The intensity of the competition will heat-up as the teams aim to position themselves at the top of the league&s table, the viewer at home
and abroad, through the top-quality production and broadcast, is in for an absolute feast of engaging, thrilling cricketing action,& he
said.More than anything else, the tournament is being seen as a much-wanted initiative for the UAE players, who, otherwise unheralded in
world cricket, are coming into their own.In the second game of the league MI Emirates& Muhammad Waseem, a UAE batsman, emerged as the player
of the match for a batting performance that overshadowed stalwarts of his side like Kieron Pollard, Nicholas Pooran and Dwayne Bravo
In the third game, local bowler Sanchit Sharma claimed the honors for the Adani-owned Gulf Giants, Cricbuzz reported.&It is a unique league
with a few teams new to franchise cricket
It is based in the UAE where a lot of cricket is played here, be it the ICC or Asian or Pakistan events
It is the first tournament of their own and there is a huge cricketing community here
It can only grow,& says Tom Moody, the head of the Desert Vipers side.Afghan cricket fans can also tune in to watch this new league as
Ariana Television is broadcasting each match live
For the full broadcast schedule CLICK HERE.The post ILT20: Franchise owners and players upbeat about the new league first appeared on Ariana
