ECB may oppose Rajasthan Royals' tie-up with Hampshire

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The Guardian reported that, as per the tie-up, both the teams will play under the same name, wear identical kit and share players and profits. At the centre of the plan is a series of annual Royals Festivals, the first of which is slated to be staged in England over three days at the end of July.

But any professional tournament in England needs to have the ECB rubber-stamp. And ECB insiders feel that there would be no advantage in sanctioning the competition in case it deflected attention away from the relaunch of England's own Twenty20 cup. The date suggested for the inaugural Royals Festival, somewhere among the 10 days at the end of July, would clash with the quarter-finals of the domestic Twenty20.

ECB would also oppose the idea because the domestic programme is already overcrowded. The ECB has yet to receive an official application from Rajasthan Royals. When they do, it will be referred to a sub-committee, which will consider whether the proposals will benefit the game in England.

The daily also reported that Sky TV would claim automatic rights to coverage of any tournament in England under the terms of its rights agreement and the ECB - already shaken by potential losses should the government rule that the Ashes must return to free-to-air television - would be bound to support them.