ZEE TV to broadcast ECB’s new Twenty20?

ZEE TV is likely to broadcast the England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) new Twenty20 competition P20 after a lucrative sponsorship deal was in the offing.

The Telegraph reported the beer brand Kingfisher owned by billionaire businessman Vijay Mallya is a potential sponsor for the tournament, which is scheduled for next summer. Incidentally Mallya also owns the Bangalore Royal Challengers in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

“The ECB also believes that it has found a suitable broadcaster, possibly ZEE TV, who would at least be interested in televising the first division of the P20,” the newspaper said.

The Telegraph also said it still remains to secure the involvement of the Indian players who would make such a deal viable.

Nigel Hilliard, the Essex chairman, who is coordinating the development of P20, said, “Clearly we need some Indian involvement in the games. Twenty20 is so fast-moving: every time there is a new tournament, it gets an extra boost. And before we launch this next summer, there will be two more IPLs and two World Twenty20s. So it’s anyone’s guess where we will be by then.”

The P20 competition is the English answer to the hugely successful IPL. The P20 was earlier known as the EPL.