LONDON: Cricket South Africa (CSA) launched its new T20 Global League in London on Monday, announcing the host cities and owners of the eight teams ahead of the player draft on Aug 19.

The owners include film actor and producer Shah Rukh Khan, who also has a stake in the Indian Premier League side Kolkata Knight Riders, and the GMR Group, who own the Delhi Daredevils.

Among other owners, two are South African businessman, two Pakistan Super League franchises, and representatives from Hong Kong and Dubai were unveiled.

International buyers own three-quarters of the franchises with Shah Rukh Khan purchasing Cape Town franchise to add to teams in Kolkata and Trinidad. GMR Group bought the Johannesburg franchise.

The two South African-owned franchises are based in Pretoria and Stellenbosch and run by South African businessman Osman Osman, who owns a lifestyle brand, and Brimstone, a company owned by Mushtaq Brey.

PSL owners, Fawad Rana of the Lahore Qalandar, and Javed Afridi from the Peshawar Zalmi, bought franchises in Durban and Benoni respectively while the Bloemfontein franchise was bought by Hong-Kong’s Sushil Kumar and the Port Elizabeth team by Dubai’s Ajay Sethi. Both have previous involvement in cricket, Kumar owns a Hong Kong franchise while Sethi is involved at Channel 2 in the UAE.

CSA also unveiled eight ambassadors, all former South African national players: Graeme Smith, Andrew Hall, Ashwell Prince, Herschelle Gibbs, Paul Adams, Allan Donald, Andrew Hudson and Paul Harris.

The competition, hoping to emulate the success of competitions such as the IPL and Australia’s Big Bash, is set to start in November, with the final to be played on Dec 16.

“We are certain that our final eight owners have the perfect combination of strategic insight and passion needed to make the first T20 Global League a complete success, said Cricket South Africa president Chris Nenzani said.

Teams will be hosted in eight centres around South Africa Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Pret­oria, Bloemfontein, Port Elizabeth, Stellenbosch and Benoni.

Marquee players already signed up include former England batsman Kevin Pietersen, current England limited overs players Eoin Morgan and Jason Roy, and ex-internationals Brendon McCullum (New Zealand) and Chris Gayle (West Indies).

Almost 400 players from 10 countries have confirmed their interest in being part of the draft.

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2017