Overview

• The ECB and BCCI agreed at the World Test Championship final at Lord’s to withhold No Objection Certificates from players to block their participation in the Saudi-backed league.
• SRJ Sports Investments has pledged a £400 million injection to launch an eight-team T20 tournament featuring four annual events in different locations.
• Cricket Australia has indicated interest in hosting one of the proposed tournaments as a strategic partner in the new competition.
• Both boards are actively lobbying the International Cricket Council to refuse endorsement and enforce regulations that limit overseas player slots.
• The ICC’s four-year, £70 million-per-year partnership with Aramco places it in a difficult position between Saudi ties and the BCCI’s opposition.