New Delhi, June 5 (IANS) The European T20 Premier League (ETPL), co-owned by Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan, is reportedly to be shelved until 2026 as three potential owners are instead focusing on completing deals to buy team stakes in The Hundred.

Earlier this year, the International Cricket Council (ICC) formally sanctioned the new annual T20 franchise tournament, which is a unique collaboration between the cricket boards of Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands. The six-team tournament was slated to take place from July 15 to August 3.

Out of the six franchises, the owners of the three teams are also acquiring stakes in The Hundred. 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, which probably led the ETPL to be shelved until next year.

According to the BBC report, which quoted multiple sources saying “the event will definitely not happen this year”, the 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 hoped that once they were wrapped up, the remaining three would soon follow.

The report added that three of those potential ETPL franchise owners, who are also acquiring stakes in The Hundred, are said to have prioritised those deals, which led to the postponement of the ETPL, with a formal announcement to confirm it has been rescheduled to be made within the next 48 hours.

The league’s development has been spearheaded by an interim working group comprising representatives from the participating cricket boards, alongside strategic partner, Rules Sport Tech, on behalf of the funding partners.

This working group is tasked with steering key decision-making processes and overseeing the establishment and resourcing of a dedicated administrative entity to manage the tournament.

–IANS

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