Saudi Arabia will stage its maiden franchise competition, the Dunes League T20, in October – a six-team event cleared by the Saudi Arabia Cricket Federation (SACF) and aimed, first and foremost, at players who have recently left the international scene but still fancy a whirl on the global T20 circuit.
That headline fact is the real news. Matches are pencilled in for Taif, a short drive from Jeddah, with the SACF limiting each squad to no more than four players who have represented a full ICC member in the last two years. By staying under that cap the organisers avoid the extra layer of ICC approval that applies to leagues built around current internationals. Top wages could touch US$100,000 – hardly IPL money but respectable for what is, in essence, a start-up.
Away from cricket, the kingdom has become something of a regular on the global sports schedule, hosting big-ticket football friendlies, top-level boxing and, of course, LIV Golf. The latter’s main backer, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), has said it will stop bank-rolling that tour at season’s end, yet the wider policy of using sport to diversify the oil-heavy economy shows little sign of slowing.
Cricket has come along more slowly. There have been ICC sponsorships, a splashy IPL auction in Riyadh back in 2024 and, last year, a link-up with the UAE’s ILT20. A long-term deal to stage the FairBreak Women’s T20 Challenge is also in place, though its first Saudi edition is on hold while conflict continues in parts of the Gulf.
The Dunes League has been put together with the Sports Asian Network plus two talent agencies: Unique Sports Group – they look after Jofra Archer – and Prolithic, who manage Abhishek Sharma. Prolithic director Yuvraj Singh has signed on as tournament ambassador.
When sketching out the project late last year, the SACF said the competition was designed to place Saudi Arabia “on the global cricket map” and, equally, to “develop Saudi talent”. The twin aims are ambitious but, to be fair, not outlandish; associate nations from Nepal to the USA have used franchise T20 to speed up local growth.
Whether the Dunes League becomes a genuine rival to more established tournaments – never mind the IPL – is another matter. For now, it offers recently retired internationals a fresh pay-day, gives Saudi players a chance to rub shoulders with them and, if all goes to plan, nudges the sport forward in a country where football still rules the roost.
