MUMBAI: The inaugural edition of the T20 Global League has been postponed to November 2018.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the Cricket South Africa and T20 Global League boards on Tuesday. The tournament had hit a roadblock with the failure of the organisers to secure a broadcast deal, followed by the exit of CSA chief executive Haroon Lorgat a fortnight ago.
The League was supposed to start with a north-south derby between the Cape Town Knight Riders (owned by Knight Riders Sports Pvt Ltd, promoter company of IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders) and the Pretoria Mavericks at Newlands on 3 November. The tournament was supposed to involve 57 games played out over 44 days.
"We have not come to this decision lightly,” commented CSA acting CEO, Thabang Moroe. “Having discussed it with all our stakeholders including the franchise owners, we believe that the interest of the league should be our first priority. We have re-assessed our strategy and believe that postponing the first edition of the T20 Global League to next year will serve us well.”
“We will regroup and come back stronger and better. At this time, we also wish to thank all the players, sponsors, broadcast partners, SACA (South African Cricketers Association) and FICA (Federation of International Cricketers) who have committed to the project. We appreciate the continued support of the individuals and organizations who have believed in this tournament,” added Moroe.
The franchise owners are in support of the decision, an official statement said.
"Having discussed it with Mr. Moroe and Mr. Nenzani, we have arrived at a unanimous decision to defer the inaugural edition to next year. We believe it is in the best interest of the tournament to do so," said Osman Osman, from the Pretoria Mavericks.
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