Big money as Saudi makes foray into cricket with IPL auction
Big money as Saudi makes foray into cricket with IPL auction up15th edition of IPL features 10 teams for the first time since 2011 . Many names synonymous with certain franchises have Saudi Arabia hosts this year’s Indian Premier League player auction in a partnership between a money-spinning cricket tournament expanding its global reach and a kingdom using sports to improve its image. De facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has backed extravagant sports investments — set to culminate in Saudi Arabia hosting the football World Cup in 2034 — to diversify its oil-rich economy. Critics point to Saudi Arabia’s human rights record and the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018, accusing the kingdom of “ sportswashing ”. The two-day auction beginning Sunday in Jeddah is the first cricketing event of this stature to be hosted in Saudi Arabia, a country with an under-served fanbase for the sport amon...