Abhishek Bachchan Credits Father Amitabh for Inspiring His Love for Sports

Apart from being a celebrated Bollywood actor, Abhishek has also established himself as a prominent sports entrepreneur in India, with ownership stakes in kabaddi, football, and now cricket. He owns Jaipur Pink Panthers in the Pro Kabaddi League and co-owns Chennaiyin FC in the Indian Super League alongside former Indian captain MS Dhoni.

Abhishek Bachchan is often spotted cheering for his teams at Jaipur Pink Panthers kabaddi matches and Chennaiyin FC games, while also regularly attending Indian cricket team matches, reflecting his deep passion for sports.

Speaking to ANI about the origins of his passion for sports, Bachchan Jr. credited his father, Amitabh Bachchan, saying his love for sports developed during childhood while watching various games with him and learning about them from him.

"Entirely due to my father (Amitabh Bachchan). My father is a huge sports buff as well. And, you know, spending my childhood with him, watching all different, different sports and him teaching me about them is where my love for sports started," the ETPL co-owner said.

Coming to ETPL, a newly launched franchise-based cricket tournament, Abhishek has been quite vocal about his goal with the league. He aims to establish ETPL as a world-class cricket tournament in Europe featuring top international talent. He hopes for ETPL to deliver entertaining, high-quality cricket while growing into one of the most anticipated events on the cricket calendar over the next few years.

"The expectation, I believe, should be, one, to have a world-class cricketing tournament in Europe. You want an entertaining tournament with some great cricket being played. And where do I see it from in another three to five years? Hopefully still around and still being one of the most looked forward to cricketing events on the calendar," Abhishek said.

Backed by Cricket Ireland, Cricket Scotland, and the Royal Dutch Cricket Association (KNCB), the league has received official sanction approval from the International Cricket Council (ICC), making it one of the first major ICC-approved franchise T20 leagues in the region.

ETPL is expected to feature international stars including Mitchell Marsh, Tim David, Mitchell Santner, Liam Livingstone, Glenn Maxwell, Faf du Plessis, Heinrich Klaasen among others, creating a unique opportunity for emerging players from Europe and other Associate Nations to compete and share the dressing room with some of the biggest names in world cricket.

The league has already attracted several prominent names from the worlds of cricket, business, and global investment through its ownership structure. The league features an impressive lineup of cricketing legends, including former Indian cricketer Rahul Dravid, Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, former West Indies batter Chris Gayle, and former South African cricketers Jonty Rhodes and Faf du Plessis, among others.The inaugural edition of the ETPL is scheduled to be held from August 26 to September 20, 2026. Explaining the decision behind the August-September window, Abhishek Bachchan said the league aimed to secure a dedicated slot and added that the ICC-allotted window would help ETPL attract some of the best cricketing talent from around the world.

Most major franchise leagues occupy different parts of the cricket calendar, with the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Pakistan Super League (PSL) generally taking place during the March-May period, while South Africa's SA20 and Australia's Big Bash League (BBL) are usually held between December and January.

"We wanted a window which was uninterrupted. We wanted a window which had minimum clash with other cricketing activities. We're very thankful that the ICC nominated this window and gave it to us so we could attract some of the best talent available. So we're very, very happy with it," Abhishek Bachchan told ANI.

- ANI