Indian spin great Ravichandran Ashwin believes franchise-based T20 competitions such as the European T20 Premier League (ETPL) are vital for cricket's future, arguing that the shortest format is best placed to expand the sport's global footprint while casting doubt on the long-term future of One-Day Internationals.
Ashwin, who has been named captain of the Dublin Guardians in the ETPL, said the league could play an important role in broadening cricket's reach, particularly with the sport set to return at the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympics.
“Look, I think there’s an Olympics that’s going to happen in a couple of years. And if cricket as a game is pretty serious about making it a global affair, the teams in this league will play a very crucial part in enabling that,” said Ashwin.
According to India's second-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket, T20 is the most effective vehicle for taking cricket to new audiences around the world.
“Our job will be purely on T20 cricket and how it can get better. And if the game has to become global and it has to become an Olympic sport, the shorter the game, the more viable it is.
“And that’s how it’s going to become much bigger. And you will see a better sample size of players, which is also very critical for several of these leagues which run through the year. T20 as a sport is here to stay. I’m not too sure about ODI cricket,” said Ashwin.
The veteran off-spinner said one of his key priorities with the Dublin Guardians would be to help players from Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands gain valuable experience by competing in a high-quality environment.
“We owe it to the Dublin franchise and also Irish cricket in many ways, try and enable them, try and probably provide them with the right amount of exposure and opportunities,” said the legendary off-spinner.
“We want to make it about them. And that’s something that we were very clear the first day Rahul (Dravid as team owner) and I spoke about it.
“And we will stay very true to that particular formula. And we will put up a culture where cricket is played in a fashion that everyone wants to grow at least by one person every single day.”
Ashwin also stressed the importance of adaptability in modern cricket, pointing to India's recent 0-2 T20 series defeat to Ireland as an example of how playing conditions can reshape contests.
“You should be able to adapt. The name of the game is adaptation, which is why what happened recently between India and Ireland in that T20 series is a classic example of how conditions can eliminate a lot of aspects of the game that have been developed as a root cause of T20 as a sport.”
Steve Waugh, co-owner of the Amsterdam Flames, said the ETPL's primary objective is to nurture emerging talent across Europe, although he acknowledged that attracting England's leading T20 players in the future would significantly enhance the competition.
“Well, it wasn’t my choice for that (top English players not being part). And yeah, it’d be nice to have English players there, perhaps sometime in the future,” said Waugh.
“But we’re looking at developing players in Europe that haven’t had the big opportunities in the past. They really haven’t been able to showcase their skills. And this is what this tournament’s about.
“It’d be good to have England have more of a presence in the league. Hopefully, once it’s established, obviously, it’s starting in about eight weeks’ time, everybody will see how great this competition is going to be, the quality, the players, the standard,” Waugh signed off.
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