Steve Waugh hails new European T20 league as 'best thing' for the region

[p]Waugh is among the owners of the Amsterdam Flames in one of the league's six franchises based in Dublin, Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Rotterdam and Amsterdam.[/p][p]"[b]We have just seen how strong European cricket is. I mean[/b] (Ireland) [b]just beaten world champions India 2-0 in a T20 series and that shows potential for cricket in Europe,[/b]" Waugh told Indian reporters in a video call after the conclusion of the ETPL player draft.[/p][p]"[b]There are excellent players all throughout Europe, particularly Netherlands, Scotland and Ireland, and they will showcase their skills in this league.[/b]"[/p][p]The former batter said: "[b]We have got some world-class players in Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith and Tim David, and they will be rubbing shoulders with these guys for five or six weeks.[/b]"[/p][p]"[b]They are going to be fast-tracking their success with their knowledge, their mental application. This will be the best thing for European cricket that has ever happened,[/b]" he added.[/p][embed guid="c57d443e-1c04-4d06-9044-41d493a01682" url="https://x.com/PTI_News/status/2072635577242169777" social-type="twitter" /][p]Thirty-six players from Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands have been selected across the franchises.[/p][p]India's Ravichandran Ashwin will be captain and mentor of Dublin Guardians, who are co-owned by Indian batting great Rahul Dravid.[/p][p]Ashwin, an off-spinner who ended his career with 537 Test wickets, said the ETPL will be key in spreading the sport globally.[/p][p]"[b]There is an Olympics that's going to happen in a couple of years and if cricket as a game is serious about making it a global affair, I think the teams in this league will play a very crucial part in enabling that[/b]," said Ashwin.[/p][p]"[b]This is a really really exciting prospect. It is about Scottish players, about Dutch and about the Irish players and that is something we were very clear from the first day.[/b]"[/p][p]Los Angeles 2028 will see cricket returning to the Olympics for the first time since 1900, with a six-team T20 event in both the men's and women's game.[/p][p]The ETPL's inaugural edition will feature 32 matches from August 26 to September 20.[/p][embed guid="cf9ac73f-38e2-4c52-aca7-7055869f71ae" url="https://x.com/ians_india/status/2072638394329432141" social-type="twitter" /]