Trying to build a fanbase from scratch for a new team that won’t play any matches at home in its first season would seem to be challenging enough. But Rashid Ali Khan’s ambition stretches much, much further than that.
‘My vision — and it’s a big statement I know — is to look for the next Virat Kohli from Glasgow,’ he proclaims.
‘I am looking for the next Jimmy Anderson from Glasgow. So that 20 to 30 years down the line, somebody will turn around and say there was a visionary called Captain Khan, who came like Columbus, to seek out the right talent. And he made what Glasgow is now.’
It’s a strong statement from a man who, at that point, had been in the country less than 24 hours in what was his first ever visit to Scotland’s largest city.
Glasgow has always had a long association with cricket — Khan reels off a few significant historical dates to demonstrate he’s done his homework — but it is a sport played and enjoyed mostly in football’s long shadow.
Khan, bullishly, believes he can change that over time. An entrepreneur with a background that includes working as tournament director of the fabled Indian Premier League, he is now CEO of Mugafi Sports, an India-based media and entertainment business who also now own the Glasgow Cosmic, one of six franchises set to compete in the inaugural edition of the European T20 Premier League (ETPL) later this summer.
Rashid Ali Khan is confident that the European T20 Premier League will be a huge success
Various attempts to launch a European white-ball tournament in recent years have all fallen by the wayside but Khan is confident this one will get off the ground.
‘I love the team running the ETPL,’ he adds. ‘I’ve known them for decades. So, I’m 100-per-cent confident that we will be bowling the first ball on August 26. And on August 27 Glasgow will play their first match. And we are winning it.’
Khan and the rest of the Cosmic ownership — West Indian legend Chris Gayle’s proposed involvement with the team is yet to materialise — have certainly been putting their money where their mouths are, assembling a playing squad bursting with worldwide T20 specialists alongside a sprinkling of Scottish internationals.
New Zealand bat Finn Allen, England all-rounder Liam Livingstone — poached from rivals Edinburgh Castle Rockers — South African bowler Lungi Ngidi and Scots veterans George Munsey and Richie Berrington have all been named on the Glasgow roster where they will be coached by Australian pair Matthew Hayden and Matthew Mott, the latter England’s former white ball coach.
Those names might not mean much to most Glaswegians but, to cricket fans around the world, it’s a stellar cast list. The major downside is they won’t be playing any matches in Scotland in year one, with Ireland and the Netherlands playing host this time around.
That seems a fairly hefty obstacle to overcome in a city already largely sceptical about cricket but Khan is undeterred.
Khan has declared his ambition to unearth the next Virat Kohli from Glasgow
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‘As an organisation we are very clear that this should be our home, so we are going to hold our pre-season in Glasgow,’ he revealed.
‘I can’t expect something without giving back. We are also planning a campaign where we will fly some exclusive Glasgow Cosmic community members to Dublin to watch a match, all paid for by us.
‘This is very personal for us. There’s a lot of responsibility on how we represent this city to the world because it’s getting broadcast into different channels globally.
‘There are six franchises and I had an option to choose others. But somehow Glasgow got stuck in our heads because I feel the passion of this city — it runs on the beat. I will be more than happy to see in a couple of months somebody wearing a Glasgow Cosmic T-shirt or scarf.’
A player draft will populate each squad with more homegrown talent but Khan is already looking beyond that towards the next generation.
‘My agenda as an organisation is to develop the grassroots,’ he adds. ‘Primarily we want to find talent at the age of 13 to 15 and nurture them. A couple of people in Glasgow associated with Cricket Scotland are aware that we are here.
‘But in the next 18 months, I want the entire city to know there is a franchise called Glasgow Cosmic.
‘My long-term vision is not just to play T20 cricket here. I want to play Test matches here in Glasgow. Of course, all of that is going to take a lot of time. But we are patient enough. We are here to stay.’
