Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan has been on a whirlwind tour of Dublin, which included a stop off at the dmg media Hub, as he promotes the new ETPL.

The European T20 Premier League, which will see two franchises from Ireland compete against four others from Scotland and the Netherlands will begin its inaugural season this summer.

Bachchan is one of the initial investors and he explained to BusinessPlus.ie that he was keen to get involved because he sees a "market with so much potential".

The actor and entrepreneur already owns three different sports teams in his home country of India, but said, "There is very little I can possibly contribute to cricket in India."

And so the idea of investing in the European game appealed to him.

"For me, a big kick about doing work in sport is can I make a difference? What can I bring to the table that can aid the sport? That's when the opportunity of the European T20 League came about and immediately you just knew there was a market that had so much potential."

And where does he see the profit coming from?

"I think T20 as a format is very exciting. T20 is three to four hours, and I think with the younger generation's attention span greatly reducing, I mean we are used to reels now. 30 seconds and they want to get onto the next thing.

"They want something that's moving along, that's fast-paced and good and entertaining to watch. I think T20 checks those boxes.

"There's so much visibility, and because it is, in terms of gameplay, a slower sport, so to speak, you get a lot more opportunities to be able to showcase and to be able to show your product.

"I believe, from my research, cricket is the most advertising-friendly sport we have and now to bring that to Europe, it's a goldmine. Europe has proved itself in sports marketing."

Unlike other leagues typically supported by a single national board, the ETPL boasts the unified backing of Cricket Ireland, Cricket Scotland, and Cricket Netherlands, demonstrating an unprecedented level of collaboration and commitment to growing the game across the region.

The ETPL offers unparalleled market depth, with the potential to engage with the entire European market (excluding England).

Each new country the league connects with represents a fresh, untapped market, creating significant growth opportunities.