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3 min readJul 2, 2026 07:35 PM IST
Ravichandran Ashwin of India during the 2nd One Day International match between India and Australia held at the Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore, India on the 24th September 2023.
Ravichandran Ashwin, who will be leading the Dublin Guardians franchise in the upcoming European T20 Premier League (ETPL), said that the aforementioned league is a necessary addition in a format that is here to stay, unlike the ODIs.
“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,” Ashwin said to PTI.
“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,” he added.
India’s second highest wicket-taker in Test cricket was also excited about the prospect of his franchise and the league contributing to the growth of cricket in Ireland.
“So, as far as I’m concerned, this is a really, really exciting prospect where we not only believe that we can pick a team and do well in this tournament and also make it a really good place for these players to come in and get better and also have a lasting impact on the tournament,” Ashwin said.
“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.
For Ashwin, the league is more about the Scottish, the Irish and the Dutch players getting to showcase their talent in a high quality environment. “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.
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“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.”
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