IL T20 chief strongly debunks Smith's criticism of the league

The International League T20 (IL T20) has chosen to respond to Graeme Smith who, in his own words, 'badmouthed' the UAE league. David White, the CEO of the IL T20 stated that the tournament has massively benefited cricket in the country, and continues to play a vital role every time major cricket tournaments around the world are in need of late support.

"Oh, Mr. Smith, it's not our policy to speak about other leagues," White, the CEO of the IL T20, told Cricbuzz on Friday (January 10). "We are the only league in the world that provides a platform for the associate countries to participate at this level. We've got players from Nepal, Malaysia, USA, Scotland, Netherlands, Namibia and Italy."

White was speaking on the eve of the third edition of the league which kicks off at the Dubai International Stadium on Saturday with a game between MI Emirates and Dubai Capitals. MI Emirates are the defending champions.

Smith, the commissioner of SA20, recently hit out at the UAE league stating that the league (IL T20) is not good for the game. "We've been built up against IL T20, so it's very difficult for me to not come across like I'm bad-mouthing them, but I do feel like a league like that is not good for the game; that there's that many international players required to build a team; there's no investment back into local cricket. That is a challenge for the world game and something that needs to be managed going forward," the former South Africa skipper, one of the legends of the game, remarked.

White, a former of CEO New Zealand Cricket, debunked Smith's criticism and explained how the money earned from the leagues goes back to the game. "Listen, he's entitled to his comments, but I just think that his comments have been made without doing any investigation, maybe he should have taken the time to look at what we're looking to achieve, what we are achieving and the importance that this league has in terms of the growth of cricket in the UAE, the wider Gulf and the international game. It's easy to dismiss the influence of the UAE. The UAE has got unbelievable facilities and privately invested facilities, and it is the backstop for all the ICC events."

White strove to point out how UAE and the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) came to the rescue of world cricket when there were crises elsewhere, like organising women's T20 World Cup last year in a short time, holding men's T20 World Cup in 2021 and then the IPL twice when the Indian league could not be staged at home due to Covid-19.

"At the drop of a hat, whether it's the Bangladesh riots or the Champions Trophy or the IPL or Covid or whatever... they come to the UAE. It's a turnkey solution. Beautiful stadiums, beautiful facilities, great training facilities, and of course, the UAE is very happy to host that. The contribution that the UAE makes to the global game is massive.

"The ICC funding is reliant solely on events. And the ICC has been able to provide a fantastic facility and backstop for whenever the ICC gets in trouble. So I think that needs to be acknowledged in the whole scheme of things as well. I think this region has got huge potential, but the influence of UAE cricket and what they do for the global game I think is often underestimated."

He also explained that the Emirates Board was investing in grassroots cricket too. "What we've done, we had 300 players registered for a development tournament, of which we had a draft after that. And 25 players have been selected to participate in ILT20. These players are going to rub shoulders with the best players in the world, fantastic coaches, and already the national team, I believe on the back of this experience they've had at IL T20, they've improved. They have qualified for the first time in eight years to play in the Asia Cup.

"The other thing that we've done with IL 20 is that we're significantly investing in the community game and the wider Gulf region. We now invest in school festivals. We've reintroduced the secondary schools competition IL T20, and we've supported the Gulf Cup as well financially."

One major criticism against the league is the absence of crowds in the stands and White said it is their focus area. "Well, the big objective of season two was to increase crowds. We did that significantly. I'm really excited about tomorrow. Our sales are the best they've been, so we can have a packed house tomorrow. So it's gaining momentum," he signed off.