Saudi Arabia is set to enter the franchise cricket landscape with its first league, the Dunes League T20, which is slated to launch later this year in October.
The tournament is officially sanctioned by the Saudi Arabia Cricket Federation and is a combination of international cricketers with recently retired international cricketers.
Over the past five years, Saudi Arabia has increasingly established itself as a major player in global sport, hosting high-profile football, tennis and boxing events as part of its broader strategy to diversify its economy.
The country’s Public Investment Fund was also instrumental in launching the breakaway LIV Golf, although reports suggest its funding will be withdrawn at the end of the current season.
Cricket, however, saw Saudi entry gradually. The kingdom has previously been involved in the sport through sponsorship deals with the International Cricket Council and hosting the 2024 IPL bid for the Indian Premier League.
FairBreak has partnered with the UAE’s ILT20 while signing a long-term deal to stage the Women’s T20 Challenge, although the inaugural edition was postponed due to regional tensions in the Gulf.
The six-team Dunes T20 League is planned to be held in Taif, near Jeddah, in association with Sports Asian Network and two talent agencies, Unique Sports Group, which represents England pacer Jofra Archer, and Prolithic, which manages India’s Abhishek Sharma. Prolithic’s Yuvraj Singh will serve as the league’s ambassador.
Saudi officials first outlined tentative plans for the league last year, an initiative aimed at putting the kingdom “on the global cricket map” while also supporting the development of local talent.
The league is expected to allow a maximum of four players who have represented full member nations in the last two years, which is designed to stay within International Cricket Council regulatory sanction limits. The salary of top players is expected to reach 100,000 USD.