Faf du Plessis, former South African captain, expressed the opinion that world cricket will reach an unprecedented level of strength once associate nations have equal opportunities. He believes this is possible thanks to the upcoming European T20 Premier League (ETPL), which starts on August 26th.
Du Plessis will be a co-owner and captain of the Rotterdam Dockers team in the first season of the tournament. He admitted that he was impressed by the performances of the associate nations during the 2026 T20 World Cup, held in India and Sri Lanka.
He noted: 'We all expected that at some point the associate nations would be able to step up and challenge the bigger teams. I was surprised that this happened at the 2026 T20 World Cup, and that was definitely my highlight.' Du Plessis added that he watched the matches at home and supported the associate nations, hoping for their advancement until the end, and considers this a step forward for the future.
According to Du Plessis, with the arrival of ETPL, one can imagine how strong cricket will become in two, three, five, or ten years when every team has an equal chance, regardless of whether they represent Scotland or South Africa.' These words were voiced in a statement released by the tournament on Wednesday.
The first season of ETPL will feature a star-studded lineup, combining leading international players with top European talent. Du Plessis emphasized that the quality of the foreign athletes demonstrates the immense potential of the tournament. He mentioned players such as Steve Smith, Mitchell Marsh, Tim David, as well as himself and Heinrich Klaasen.
He stated that the league features a first-class squad comparable to the best global leagues, and since the league is in its early stages, it has not yet revealed its full potential, which encourages people to become part of this process.
Jonny Rhodes, a former South African fielding legend who joins Du Plessis as a co-owner of the Rotterdam franchise, noted that the league provides local European players with an ideal platform to test their skills against world-class players.
Rhodes specifically highlighted the opportunity for players from smaller cricketing nations. He reported that he has already seen glimpses of incredible talent in Scottish, Irish, and Dutch players. Although they have shown the ability to compete, they often lacked a suitable platform. Now, thanks to ETPL, they have a real stage to take their game to the next level, playing alongside and against the best players in the world, which will help them grow and advance European cricket.