Expanded T10 League beefs up sponsor roster ahead of 2nd season

DUBAI: Ghalia Group, a UAE-based conglomerate, has been unveiled as the new title sponsor of T10 League, the world’s first 10-over international professional cricket league.

Also on the sponsor roster are banking group Emirates NBD, MyDubai and BMW. 

Ghalia Group is a UAE-based conglomerate that has ventured into oil and gas, aviation, information technology and financial technology sectors.

Speaking to Gulf News, T10 league chairman Shaji ul Mulk said: “The UAE’s private sector organisations are providing strong support to the T10 League. Ghalia Group will be our new title sponsors. They are a Sharjah-based major crude oil trader who have also recently invested in the Indian aviation industry by acquiring two regional airlines, Air Deccan and Air Odisha, and is setting up a $2 billion AeroCity in Andhra Pradesh. We also have ENBD, MyDubai and BMW backing us.”

Zahid Hussein, managing partner of Ghalia Group, expressed his pleasure with the association: “We are delighted to support the T10 League, supported by the Emirates Cricket Board and share the same vision as the promoters of the T10 League. As a UAE home-grown business, we feel privileged to partake in such an international tournament where we would mutually benefit from the media exposure as we foray in to the aviation business in India.”

This year’s T10 League will mark the second season of the competition, which is the world’s first 10-over international professional cricket league.

This tournament, which will take place at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in the UAE, will be played over 12 days from November 21 to December 2 and will feature 29 matches in all.

The second edition is being telecast live through Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD in India, Ten Sports in Pakistan, Ten Cricket in Middle East and North Africa and will also be streamed live on the SonyLIV app. 

ul Mulk further told the daily: “More eye balls means more commercial value to the teams. The fact that we have tripled the size of the league from four days to 12 days now we expect to reach three times the audience or even more. The league will be more popular than last year and we are looking at over 100 million viewers this year. That is where we hope to drive from this experience better ground rights, better sponsorship deals and broadcast deals. The commercials should be very interesting from next year.”