New Delhi, August 25, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Former India cricketer and head coach Rahul Dravid has taken on a new role as co-owner of Dublin Guardians in the inaugural European T20 Premier League (ETPL), describing the experience as both challenging and exciting as he ventures beyond his familiar roles as a player and coach.
The inaugural ETPL begins on Tuesday with several prominent Indian names associated with the competition. While Dravid is a franchise co-owner, Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan is a co-founder of the city-based league. Indian cricketers Ravichandran Ashwin, Ajinkya Rahane and Vijay Shankar are also set to feature as players.
Explaining his decision to join the league, Dravid said he was attracted by the people involved and the opportunity to contribute to the development of cricket in Europe.
“There are some really good people to work with and be associated with the league as well,” Dravid told JioStar.
He cited former Australia captain Steve Waugh and hockey great Jamie Dwyer’s involvement with Amsterdam Flames, Glenn Maxwell’s association with another franchise and Bachchan’s passion for the sport as factors that encouraged him to participate.
“I thought, ‘Why not get involved, do something slightly different?’ I’ve always been involved as a coach or as a player, but trying to set up things and appoint coaches and players and marketing and finance, stuff that is a little bit out of my comfort zone, is exciting nevertheless,” he said.
Dravid, who coached India to the 2024 T20 World Cup title, said Europe has considerable potential for cricket and that the ETPL could help broaden participation in the sport.
He also discussed the balance between cricket’s formats, saying Test cricket remains his personal favourite and the “number one format”, but T20 cricket provides an effective way to introduce the game to new audiences.
Dravid said T20 cricket could help establish a following in emerging markets before efforts are made to develop longer formats.
“When you’re starting, when you’re trying to take your early steps, I think the T20 format’s the perfect format,” he said.
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