After staging Formula One races, owning Newcastle United, bringing Cristiano Ronaldo to play in the domestic league, and promoting the rival LIV golf circuit, cricket could be the next sport Saudi Arabia is venturing into.

Officials from the kingdom have reportedly held discussions with those at the helm of the Indian Premier League with the intention of starting the world’s richest cricket tournament in the gulf nation.

The two sides have been testing the waters with the relationship recently with ‘Visit Saudi’ being a major sponsor for the ongoing Indian Premier League. Saudi oil giant Aramco has had sponsorship deals with the International Cricket Council (ICC) and BCCI. The kingdom has set the strategic goal of becoming the No. 1 tourist destination for India by 2030.

IPL franchises – such as Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders, Delhi Capitals, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rajasthan Royals, and Lucknow Super Giants – are already involved in overseas T20 leagues from UAE, South Africa, USA and Caribbean – but BCCI doesn’t allow Indian players to feature in any other domestic competition in the format fearing it will diminish the IPL’s brand value.

Getting top Indian stars to play in an overseas domestic league could be the real game-changer in this regard and will definitely put the cat among the pigeons.

But if the BCCI is to be believed, that’s not going to happen any time soon, even though IPL franchises can put their money wherever they want.

“No current Indian players will be taking part in any of the leagues, but as far as franchise participation is concerned, we can’t stop them, a top BCCI official told The Indian Express. “It’s their individual decision. We have seen IPL franchises going to South Africa or Dubai and we can’t say no. It’s their choice to have their team in any of the leagues around the world.”

The BCCI providing technical knowhow in organising a T20 league could be a start, with IPL franchises getting another market to invest.

As of now, the UAE is the major cricketing destination in the gulf region and has hosted the T20 World Cup, IPL, Asia Cup and even bilateral series involving Full Member Nations. It also houses the ICC headquarters and has impressive cricket infrastructure and stadia in venues such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.

Saudi Arabia doesn’t have such infrastructure, but plans to set the ball rolling in this regard.

“Our aim is to create a sustainable industry for locals and expats living in the Kingdom and make Saudi Arabia a global cricketing destination,” Saudi Arabian Cricket Federation Chairman Prince Saud bin Mishal Al-Saud has been quoted as saying by Arab News.

“One of our biggest objectives is to bring better quality of life for expatriates working here. We have about eight million people from Asian countries where cricket is the most popular game, places such as India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka,” he added.

The kingdom has extremely deep pockets and its interest in investing in the sport has the ICC enthused.

“If you look at other sports they’ve been involved in, cricket is something I imagine would be attractive to them,” ICC Chair Greg Barclay was quoted as saying. (Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/top-indian-cricketers-wont-be-allowed-to-play-in-saudi-arabia-bankrolled-richest-cricket-league-bcci-official-8556656/)

Saudi Arabia set to launch lucrative Twenty20 tournament