South Africa cricketers Faf du Plessis, Heinrich Klaasen and Jonty Rhodes have joined as co-owners of the Rotterdam franchise in the European T20 Premier League.

The Rotterdam Dockers, to be led by Du Plessis, will play the inaugural tournament later this year.

Actor Abhishek Bachchan is a co-founder of the European T20 Premier League (ETPL).

Five of the six franchises have now been sold. There is talk that an investment group involving Rahul Dravid and Ravichandran Ashwin are likely to acquire the Glasgow franchise.

Du Plessis, a former South Africa captain, said being an owner still feels unreal since he will be playing too.

“It still hasn’t really sunk in. I still see myself only really as a player, and love being on the field. So, this is really exciting. It’s something that Heinrich Klaassen and I are really looking forward to,” Du Plessis said.

“When you have so many leagues around the world, it’s really important like, what are the things that really get you motivated to be a part of it?

“And this is certainly something we want to be a part of. It’s something that’s starting fresh. It’s very raw. It’s got huge potential.”

He agreed that the IPL remains the undisputed top player among the franchise leagues. “...You cannot compare any of the leagues around the world to the IPL in terms of its size, what it’s done, the business side of it. I mean, a billion people in India, there’s just no way.

“So, from a financial point of view, you can’t compare that to the IPL,” Du Plessis said.

“It’s not going to take a week or two, but there’s potential here. And that’s all you’re looking for is potential... If you do all of those things, the game will grow. And
if you grow it slowly, then from a financial perspective, yes, it might take a bit of time,” he added.