The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has strengthened its backroom, adding experienced sports executive Aarti Dabas as its new chief revenue officer.
Dabas will step into the role at the beginning of next year and will be responsible for shaping the game’s commercial and revenue strategy, leading the organization’s partnerships, media and broadcast deals, sponsorships, and marketing functions.
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Specifically, she will be working to increase innovation across the ECB’s competitions and events, explore new revenue streams, and expand the game’s reach both domestically and internationally.
Dabas said: “Cricket has been a lifelong passion, and to contribute to the sport’s commercial growth in England and Wales and beyond is an honor.
“I look forward to working with Richard Gould, the ECB Board, colleagues at the ECB, commercial partners, and the wider global cricket family to grow the sport while embracing its rich traditions, its push for diversity, and the future of the media and consumer landscape."
Dabas joins the ECB from motor racing’s Formula E, where she most recently served as chief media officer, overseeing global growth across media distribution, broadcast, digital content, gaming, and technology.
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By GlobalDataDuring her tenure, she rolled out a new global media strategy that delivered record-breaking viewership growth and supported the competition’s diversity, equality, and inclusion initiatives.
ECB chief executive Richard Gould said: “Aarti has an outstanding track record of driving sustainable commercial growth and engaging a diverse fan base, and I’m delighted to welcome her to the ECB.
“By growing cricket in recent years, we have been able to invest in the sport at every level, from getting more children playing and supporting the grassroots game to running our England teams, while also delivering record funding to our counties. It’s vital that we continue to grow cricket’s reach, relevance, and financial sustainability, and Aarti brings invaluable knowledge and expertise from a range of commercial environments to help us achieve this.”
The new appointment comes shortly after the ECB announced Rhys Beera as interim chief commercial officer following the departure of Tony Singh, who served in the role since 2019.
Earlier this year, the ECB also reappointed Richard Thompson as chair on a second three-year term until 2028.
The ECB board decided to confirm Thompson’s reappointment well in advance of the end of his current term to “ensure stability and continuity” ahead of a period when the governing body will be introducing the eight new investors into The Hundred and hosting the ICC Women's T20 World Cup in 2026.
Thompson was also a key figure in leading cricket back into the Olympics in 2028, sitting on the ICC Olympic Working Group and chairing the ICC Global Growth Committee.
In terms of ECB commercial activity, its list of sponsors includes brands such as Toyota (principal partner), Rothesay, Metro Bank, Vitality, Cognizant, IG, and Zoopla, with Castore the governing body's kit supply partner.
In early July, Toyota enhanced its presence in UK cricket by expanding its overall ECB relationship to include The Hundred, the eight-team, short-format, franchise competition.
In May, the body secured a new broadcast deal with UK commercial broadcaster Channel 5 to provide free-to-air coverage of international T20 matches for the next four years.
The ECB also recently extended its partnership with the BBC, in which the public-service broadcaster will continue to air England men’s and women’s international highlights and live coverage of The Hundred short-format competition for the next four years.
