In a strange combination, business tycoon Vijay Mallya, owner of IPL franchise Bangalore Royal Challengers, may sponsor England and Wales Cricket Board's new Twenty20 competition P20, which may be broadcast on Zee TV, the channel of the owner of the 'rebel' ICL.
'Daily Telegraph' reported today that "a potential sponsor has been found in Kingfisher, the beer brand owned by billionaire businessman Vijay Mallya, who also owns the Bangalore Royal Challengers in the 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.
Essex chairman Nigel Hilliard, who is coordinating the development of P20, proposes the Twenty20 tournament, featuring two divisions of nine teams takes place in June next year.
"Twenty20 is so fast-moving ... 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," he told the paper.
Hilliard also wants involvement of Indian players to make the tournament more attractive.
"We need some Indian involvement in the games. But that's not insurmountable. Overall things are looking more optimistic than they were three months ago," said Hilliard.
