Warne eager to expand Royals empire

LONDON: Shane Warne said he wished he was “20 years younger” as he helped unveil plans for a new global Twenty20 alliance.

TWENTY20 ALLIANCE: Warne (right) attends a press conference with India chief executive Sean Morris at Lords in west London. — AFP photo

India’s Rajasthan Royals, where Warne is both captain and coach, are the driving force behind a scheme to create a worldwide Twenty20 brand.

The other teams involved include English county Hampshire, a team Warne once captained, South Africa’s Cape Cobras and West Indies’ Trinidad and Tobago.

Talks are also in progress to bring on board Victoria, Australia’s domestic Twenty20 champions and the side where leg-spin great Warne initially made his name as a professional cricketer.

All of the teams taking part will now carry the ‘Royals’ suffix in their domestic Twenty20 competitions and play each other in a series of matches, with the first edition planned for England in July.

Organisers hope to stage a second ‘Royals Twenty20’ in either Australia or South Africa in December, with a third edition pencilled in for either Jaipur or the Middle East in early 2011.

It is envisaged players from each member of the ‘Royals family’ could be shared between the teams in an exchange system.

That could offer the chance of year-round cricket for those yet to reach full international standard and allow talented youngsters to gain experience of different conditions.

There are also proposals for teams from New Zealand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to join the Royals 2020 once the event was established.

“I’m so excited by this,” said Warne.

“It would be nice to be 20 years younger,” added the 40-year-old.

“I am delighted to be part of this new innovation, and I am excited by what we can achieve, given what we have already achieved.

“Yet again, the Royals are leading the way,” added Warne who led the franchise co-owned by Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty to victory in the inaugural IPL in 2008.

“It is a bonus that clubs with which I have such        deep affection are so involved.” British-based businessman Manoj Badale, the Royals’ other co-owner, who was alongside Warne, had no doubt the new venture would be a success having seen a near         capacity crowd of some 23,000 turn up at Lord’s last year for a Twenty20 match between his side and Middlesex.

“The response that we have had from fans overseas over the past two seasons has convinced us to expand our ambition,” Badale said. — AFP