Dublin Guardians and Irish Wolves Give Irish Cricket Strong ETPL Presence
The Dublin Guardians have taken a major step towards their first season in the European T20 Premier League, building a strong Irish core around one of the biggest names in world cricket.
The Rahul Dravid-backed franchise selected Benjamin Calitz, George Dockrell, Matthew Hollard and Craig Young in the inaugural ETPL Player Draft, with Noah Croes of the Netherlands and Scotland international Chris Greaves completing their six draft selections. The Guardians will be captained and mentored by former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, adding global profile to a Dublin team that will carry significant Irish interest into the new franchise era.
Dublin Takes Shape
The Guardians’ draft strategy gives the team a clear Irish identity, combining senior international experience with emerging local depth.
Dockrell and Young bring established Ireland credentials, while Calitz and Hollard add to the domestic base of a squad that will be watched closely as a shop window for Irish cricket. For Cricket Ireland, the makeup of the Dublin side is likely to be one of the most encouraging outcomes of the draft, with home-based players not merely filling squad positions but forming part of the team’s competitive spine.
Ashwin said after the draft that Dublin had prioritised versatility and role clarity, stressing that nationality was secondary to quality and that every player selected had to be capable of playing a clear role.
Belfast Adds Further Irish Weight
There was also strong Irish interest around the Belfast-based Irish Wolves, who selected Matthew Humphreys, Tim Tector and Paul Stirling alongside Fred Klaassen, Zainullah Ihsan and Alexander Roy.
That gives the Belfast franchise a strong local narrative of its own, with Stirling bringing profile and proven international experience, Humphreys adding left-arm spin, and Tector representing the next generation of Irish batting talent. The Irish Wolves are owned through the Floodlight Capital Consortium, with Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell involved as co-owner and captain, giving the franchise both local relevance and international star power.
The Dublin-Belfast dynamic now becomes one of the most interesting early storylines in the ETPL. Both Irish franchises have built around recognisable Irish names while also leaning on major international figures in Ashwin, Dravid and Maxwell. That combination should help the league reach beyond traditional cricket followers and into the broader sports and business audience.
Irish Players Across the League
The wider Irish story stretched beyond the two home franchises, with 12 Irish players selected across the six ETPL teams. The league confirmed that the draft delivered 12 players each from Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands, reflecting the competition’s aim of placing associate-nation talent at the heart of the model.
Curtis Campher was the first player selected in ETPL Draft history, going to Steve Waugh’s Amsterdam Flames, who also added Irish all-rounder Jordan Neill. Jai Moondra, one of the rising names in Irish cricket, was picked by Rotterdam Dockers, while Gareth Delany and Ross Adair were selected by Edinburgh Castle Rockers.
That spread matters. It means Irish players will not only be concentrated in Dublin and Belfast but will gain dressing-room exposure across the league, playing alongside and against elite T20 talent from Australia, India, South Africa, Scotland and the Netherlands.
A Bigger Commercial Moment
The ETPL has been built as a six-franchise competition across Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands, with Dublin, Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Rotterdam and Amsterdam forming the first-season map. Dravid’s involvement with Dublin has already drawn international attention, while Maxwell’s role in Belfast gives the Irish side of the league a second major global name.
The new competition offers a platform to grow audiences, create new sponsorship inventory, give Irish players regular franchise exposure, and connect the game with international markets.
The challenge will be to turn draft-day attention into attendance, broadcast engagement and long-term credibility. The opportunity, though, is clear. With Dublin Guardians leading the Irish charge, Belfast’s Irish Wolves adding weight in the north, and Irish players spread across the full league, the ETPL has already given Irish cricket a prominent place in its first major storyline.
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Image Credit: ETPL
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