Saudi Arabia revives cricket 'Grand Slam' talks as $5bn LIV Golf bet fails to yield profit: Report

Saudi Arabia has yet again shifted focus towards cricket with the future of LIV Golf yet to yield desired results. According to a Times report, a global T20 cricket competition is becoming a lucrative idea in the Gulf kingdom due to increasing popularity of the sport.

Last year, reports were doing rounds about Saudi's growing cricketing ambitions with a 'Grand Slam' style tournament in the works. However, after the initial flutter, the plans failed to build up any further. However, the latest report now claims that once again the plan has been revived as the Gulf kingdom looks for lucrative business opportunities in the world of sports.

Why Saudi is interested in cricket?

According to the Times, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has unveiled a new five-year plan which focuses on projects that will bring significant economic impact. With LIV Golf, a breakaway tour that started in 2022, not bringing expected results, the focus is shifting towards cricket.

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The report cites business insiders as saying that cricket is emerging as a lucrative option because of its "bigger commercial base and lower entry barriers." The sport is being seen as a simpler route to immediate profit and economic return when compared to LIV Golf which is yet to yield profit despite an enormous investment of over $5 billion. In fact, LIV chief executive Scott O’Neil recently said that the tour would not break even for the next five to ten years. PIF is likely to stop funding the LIV Golf after this year.

This is pushing PIF to look for other sports to invest in and cricket is a likely candidate. As per the report, a 'Grand Slam' style tournament is being discussed with a series of events taking place across multiple venues, most likely at different points in the year. Instead of competing with the existing tournaments, the Saudi league is aiming to adapt to the ongoing cricketing calendar.

However, with a packed international schedule and T20 leagues increasingly popping up all around the world, finding space in the calendar looks increasingly difficult.

The Gulf kingdom has shown interest towards cricket in recent times with the nation’s cricket federation also partnering with the ILT20, the UAE-based T20 competition, with hopes of staging games in Saudi Arabia. Women’s World T20 Challenge, the country’s first professional women’s cricket event, is set to kick off this year with top female talent likely to feature in it.