Jonty Rhodes and Faf du Plessis (PC: ETPL)
The landscape of global franchise cricket is expanding, and former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis is at the forefront of its latest European frontier. Teaming up with compatriots Heinrich Klaasen and Jonty Rhodes, alongside managing partner Madhukar Shree, du Plessis has acquired the Rotterdam franchise in the newly minted European T20 Premier League (ETPL).
Sanctioned by the ICC, the inaugural ETPL is set to introduce high-octane T20 cricket across Europe from August 26 to September 20. The 33-match tournament will feature six city-based franchises: Glasgow, Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Dublin, Belfast, and Rotterdam. The league boasts a strong ownership roster, including Chris Gayle (Glasgow), Glenn Maxwell (Belfast), Steve Waugh and Jamie Dwyer (Amsterdam), and the Kiwi duo of Kyle Mills and Nathan McCullum (Edinburgh).
For du Plessis, stepping into ownership is driven by more than just high-profile associations. When the ETPL proposition crossed his desk, he was instantly captivated by the “excitement of the raw potential that there is” in these emerging cricketing territories.
“When you go to play in new competitions, you want to go to places that you haven’t been really before,” du Plessis said, highlighting the allure of the Netherlands, Ireland, and Scotland. “I know well how that’s gone over the last few years, what amazing World Cups we saw from those countries. So that was exciting.”
The core motivation for du Plessis and Klaasen lies in building sustainable frameworks rather than fulfilling transient playing contracts.
“I see the potential in a tournament like this… I see what it’s done to local cricket,” he noted. “That is exciting when you are a part of something that gives you a little bit more purpose than just going to play and just being a hired gun all around the world and trying to go in, play, get out, leave.”
Acknowledging the responsibility of franchise ownership, du Plessis emphasised community integration. “What are we doing to make sure that we just don’t go into Rotterdam three, four weeks of the year, go in, go out, and you do nothing apart from that,” he said. “The responsibility then lies, what can we do to grow local cricket? What can we do to create awareness?”
Addressing the commercial viability of ETPL, the South African veteran remains focused on organic growth over immediate returns.
“The vision is just to create an A-class product,” du Plessis explained. “If you have a good product, if you bring world-class players, the fans will come. The people will watch.”
He dismissed the idea of quick profits, stressing patience in building a legacy. “As an entry point, to go ‘money, money, money, money,’ I think that’s not really what the vision of this is. It might take a little bit of time, but how great will it be in a few years, we look back and you sgo, look how this thing has evolved,” the former South Africa captain concluded.
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