New Delhi, Oct 17 (IANS) Royal Desert Champions owner Amit Narang has ruled out looking at additional cricket franchise investments in India in the immediate future, saying the focus remains on establishing the UAE-based team and building a sustainable sporting property over the next three to five years.
Narang, a former international banker with over 17 years of experience in banking and fintech, said the franchise’s entry into the Abu Dhabi T10 coincides with a significant transition for the competition, which is entering a new phase under Abu Dhabi Sports and Tourism Management.
Narang, whose investment in Royal Desert Champions marks his first venture into sports franchise ownership, believes the T10 format offers a distinct opportunity in an increasingly crowded franchise cricket market. He said the league’s established history, international player pool and shorter tournament window were among the factors that influenced the decision to invest.
“It’s a new version of T10 Abu Dhabi. This is the 10th year of the league, so you’re entering into a league which is well-oiled and has been running for a while. It’s not new; people know about it. It’s always good to come into a league which is already running and has a background, but it’s a new version of the T10 league because Abu Dhabi Sports and Tourism has taken it over this year, and that’s why our entry this year is, in a large way, linked to that milestone. We want to be a part of this league going forward,” Narang told IANS in an exclusive interaction, explaining why he chose the Abu Dhabi T10 at this stage of his career.
“Why T10? I think it’s the fastest format. You’ve seen how the world has changed from ODIs to T20S, and there are more matches that are played today for T20 versus ODI. I think, therefore, at the same time, there is a space for an even faster format, and we’ve entered into a league which is T10, which is the oldest T10 league. So it makes sense to build our franchise along with Abu Dhabi Sports and Tourism as we go along. There are common objectives to achieve, so that’s why this entry now, at this time, and why not other leagues? I think, frankly speaking, there are a lot of T20 leagues now, including a lot of domestic leagues in India and beyond India.
“I think it’s good to be in a T10 league which is attracting the right quality of players. A league is as successful as the quality of players who come in and who play. If you look at our team and most of the teams that have been announced in this league, they’re extremely good players.
“They’re all international players, and the fact that this is a 14-day league and it’s a shorter duration, you’re able to get commitments from players to come in. The larger the league, sometimes it may be a challenge for player availability as well. So you’re able to attract good talent, good players, good coaches, and good team directors, and that’s what this whole thing is about,” he added.
The change in the league’s management has also raised expectations around its commercial development. Narang believes the competition already occupies a strong position within the T10 landscape and could build on that standing in the coming years, although he said the precise direction of its expansion would depend on the plans of its new management.
“As I said, this is the most premium T10 league, even today, having been in play for nine years. If you look around and see the T10 landscape, you will see that Abu Dhabi T10 is the most premium league already, and now with Abu Dhabi Sports and Tourism taking this over, you can only expect bigger things coming through. Whichever sports assets they have had to date are all big in their own right. So I don’t know the exact plans that they have for the league in terms of how they will build this up from here, but Abu Dhabi, being what they are, will build this up into a larger league.
“The way we’ve done the draft this year has been the best that they’ve done over the last 10 years. So I think it’s gonna be a take-off time. We’ll have to wait and watch how we go the next three to five years, but all of us are very excited about the journey going forward,” Narang detailed.
For Narang, the immediate priority is to establish the first franchise before considering opportunities in other competitions, including India’s established franchise cricket ecosystem. He said the team would need sustained attention and investment before any decision on further expansion could be made.
“Too early to really even look at. I think we are focused on this league. We want to build over the next three to five years and see how well we do here. Too early to really look beyond this. This is the first time that we are entering into sports management. So we want to kind of build on this, put a lot of effort behind this and see where we go from there.”
The owner also stressed that long-term franchise value cannot be separated from on-field performance, arguing that a competitive team is essential to building a credible sporting brand. Royal Desert Champions, he said, would pursue commercial growth alongside consistent performances rather than treating the two as separate objectives.
“I think it’s a mix of all. It’s not either or. To be honest, it’s eventually sports management. So you want to build a brand. You want to build the IP. You want a competitive team because if you don’t have a competitive team and you don’t play well, you don’t play the basic game well, then anyway, your brand takes a beating. So you need to have a good competitive team, play hard cricket, play good fast cricket, and win more matches than you lose. And that’s also the morale of the team, then, right? If you lose a lot, then the morale goes down.
“And the morale of the whole management team, the whole coaching team, and the players is in winning. So, you need to be competitive. Yes, we put up a competitive team. Win or loss depends on the day as well. But if you win more and lose less, it’s what you are aiming for. You want to build a brand. You want to build IP. So I think it’s a mix of all of these that you said. You have very, very, very relevant points. And all of them are important for a sustainable long-term league ownership,” he mentioned.
Narang’s approach places the emphasis on building a competitive side and a recognisable franchise identity before pursuing further investments. For Royal Desert Champions, the next three to five years will be crucial in determining how its sporting ambitions translate into long-term commercial value.
--IANS
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