Rahul Dravid announced as owner of Dublin Guardians

The European T20 Premier League (ETPL) has announced Rahul Dravid as the owner of the Dublin franchise. The team has been named Dublin Guardians. The on-boarding of Dravid completes the league's six-team franchise structure ahead of its highly anticipated 2026 launch. The league is being promoted by Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan.

Both Dravid and Bachchan were present in Dublin on Monday when the announcement was made.

Launched in partnership with Cricket Ireland, Cricket Scotland and the Royal Dutch Cricket Association, ETPL introduces a first-of-its-kind cross-border franchise model featuring teams from Dublin, Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Rotterdam and Amsterdam.

The league is expected to feature international stars including Mitchell Marsh, Tim David, Mitchell Santner, Liam Livingstone, Glenn Maxwell, Faf du Plessis and Heinrich Klaasen among others.

"What attracted me to ETPL was the larger vision behind it, the opportunity to help grow cricket in Europe by strengthening grassroots development and creating pathways for emerging talent across Ireland and Europe. Dublin already has a passionate cricketing community and enormous potential for growth. Nurturing the next generation has always been important to me, and I believe ETPL can play a meaningful role in that journey," Dravid said.

The six-team league will be held in August and September.

ETPL's franchise ownership structure:

• Dublin franchise – Rahul Dravid
• Belfast franchise – Glenn Maxwell and Rohan Lund
• Edinburgh franchise – Kyle Mills, Nathan McCullum & Rachel Wiseman
• Glasgow franchise – Vipul Aggarwal and Chris Gayle
• Amsterdam franchise – Steve Waugh, Jamie Dwyer and Tim Thomas
• Rotterdam franchise – Jonty Rhodes, Faf du Plessis, Glashin and Samir Shah, with Madhukar Shree as Managing Partner