As he says it himself, India – like Australia – is very much a cricketing nation. Yet, Abhishek Bachchan has looked beyond those shores for his latest project involving the sport. The Bollywood superstar has co-founded the European T20 Premier League (ETPL), appearing in Sydney on Wednesday to announce the owners of its first three franchises in Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands.
As a joint venture between Rules Global (“Rules X”) and Cricket Ireland, the ETPL is further supported through formal partnerships with Cricket Scotland and the Royal Dutch Cricket Association (KNCB). Speaking to Draw Your Box at Sydney’s Pier One, the actor described the ETPL as an opportunity to fill a huge gap.
“It’s the last frontier, right? Australia, Africa, Asia, now North America. They all have competitive T20 leagues that are played on a franchise base, and Europe is the only one that didn’t,” Bachchan told Draw Your Box. “So, we were all looking at doing something with cricket, and we felt that that was the right market to do it in.
“To get a world class tournament and give an opportunity to the Europeans and the cricketers over there, the aspiring cricketers in the business, it’s only going to be beneficial to them,” he added. “You’re going to see, in time to come, that their quality of cricket is going to improve as well.”
Listen to our podcast interview with Abhishek Bachchan below:
Besides being a huge fan of cricket, Bachchan’s link to the sport extends to the big screen. In 2023, he played a cricket coach in Ghoomer. The sports drama Bollywood film was about a cricketer who loses her right arm in a freak accident after securing a spot in the Indian National Women’s cricket team. In August 2023, Bachchan appeared at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne to promote the film. On Wednesday, he said he couldn’t have predicted he’d be back in Australia to announce developments in such a significant cricket venture like the ETPL.
“It’s surreal, never had I thought it,” he tells us. “I mean, whilst we were shooting Ghoomer, ETPL was already on the cards and being discussed and worked upon. But to be back here in Australia to announce the first three franchises is fantastic.”
European T20 Premier League Sydney Jan 2026. Express Edits. By Orlandosydney.com
Bachchan says each of the franchise cities – Amsterdam, Edinburgh and Belfast – aim to captivate locals across the board, not just the South Asian diaspora across Europe.
“The wonderful thing about Europe and cricket is a lot of them understand cricket already, as compared to, say, in North America, where you have to rely on the diaspora from the subcontinent,” says the actor. “Here is a place that understands cricket, plays cricket,” he continues, explaining “it’s a global product”.
“If the diaspora would be interested and want to come, the more the merrier… but obviously we would like a lot of the locals to also come there and support their teams.”
So, does Bachchan himself prefer a cricket stadium packed with fans, or a film premiere flooded with fans?
“I’d be happiest with the filled-up stadium actually, because a premiere is more for your friends and family, which they better show up [to] if I call them,” he cheekily quips.
“And if you ask me a question between a ‘house full’ board outside one of my movies or a filled cricket stadium, that would be a huge dilemma. But currently, to this one, it would be a filled cricket stadium.”
European T20 Premier League Sydney Jan 2026. Express Edits. By Orlandosydney.com
European T20 Premier League Sydney Jan 2026. Express Edits. By Orlandosydney.com
Bachchan’s whirlwind trip to Australia has largely been filled with press commitments, but not without dazzling Sydney harbour views as the weather brightened on Wednesday. With his 50th birthday less than a month away (February 5 to be exact), Draw Your Box cheekily asked him if this trip Down Under was also an early present to himself to celebrate the milestone birthday.
“I never looked upon it that way, but yeah, I’m going to ask these guys to get me a nice present tonight then,” he joked, referring to the high-profile cricketers and other ETPL co-owners at the press conference. “It’s a good way to celebrate, don’t you think?”
Speaking of others in the room, the likes of Aussie cricket legend Steve Waugh, Olympic gold medallist hockey player Jamie Dwyer, and Tim Thomas, former CEO of the Centre for Australia-India Relations and former Partner at KPMG Australia, were present as newly announced co-owners of the Amsterdam franchise. ETPL co-founders Saurav Banerjee, Priyanka Kaul and Dhiraj Malhotra were also there.
Bachchan also announced to media that Edinburgh will be owned by former New Zealand internationals Nathan McCullum, former New Zealand international and high-performance cricket coach, and Kyle Mills, former New Zealand fast bowler and former ICC No.1 ODI bowler.
Meanwhile Belfast will be owned by Australian cricket star Glenn Maxwell, together with Rohan Lund, former Group CEO of NRMA, alongside strategic partners to be announced in due course.
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