T20 cricket shot to prominence during the early and mid 2000s. Here are the top 5 best T20 leagues in world cricket. Have a look.
The top 5 best T20 leagues in world cricket.
England and South Africa were the first two countries to have a tournament, featuring the format.
Since then, many countries have created their own tournaments, in order to boost both revenue and unearth new cricketers.
The best T20 leagues in world cricket contribute extremely well in those regards.
But, some are stronger than others, depending on various factors. In this article, we will be using three key points to decide the strongest T20 league in the world.
These include the availability and strength of domestic players, the availability and strength of overseas stars and how much competition there is between franchises in the tournament.
1. Indian Premier League
The Indian Premier League (IPL), also officially known as TATA IPL for sponsorship reasons, is a professional men’s Twenty20 cricket league, contested by ten teams based out of seven Indian cities and three Indian states.
| Countries | India |
|---|---|
| Administrator | Board of Control for Cricket in India |
| Format | Twenty20 |
| First edition | 2008 |
| Latest edition | 2022 |
| Tournament format | Round Robin format with Group System and Playoffs |
| Number of teams | 10 |
The league was founded by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2007.
It is usually held between March and May of every year and has an exclusive window in the ICC Future Tours Programme.
The IPL is the most-attended cricket league in the world and in 2014 was ranked sixth by average attendance among all sports leagues.
In 2010, the IPL became the first sporting event in the world to be broadcast live on YouTube.
2. Big Bash League
The Big Bash League is an Australian professional franchise Twenty20 cricket league, which was established in 2011 by Cricket Australia.
| Countries | Australia |
|---|---|
| Administrator | Cricket Australia |
| Format | Twenty20 |
| First edition | 2011–12 |
| Latest edition | 2021–22 |
| Next edition | 2022–23 |
The Big Bash League replaced the previous competition, the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash, and features eight city-based franchises instead of the six state teams which had participated previously. The competition has been sponsored by fast food-chicken outlet KFC since its inception.
It is one of the two T20 cricket leagues, alongside the Indian Premier League, to feature amongst the top ten domestic sport leagues in average attendance.
The winner of BBL 11 (2021/2022) was the Perth Scorchers who beat the Sydney Sixers by 79 runs in the final.
3. Pakistan Super League
The Pakistan Super League (PSL) is a professional Twenty20 cricket league contested during February and March of every year by six teams representing six cities of Pakistan.
| Countries | Pakistan |
|---|---|
| Administrator | Pakistan Cricket Board |
| Format | Twenty20 |
| First edition | 2016 |
| Latest edition | 2022 |
| Next edition | 2023 |
The league was founded on 9 September 2015 with five teams by the Pakistan Cricket Board.
Instead of operating as an association of independently-owned teams, the league is a single entity in which each franchise is owned and controlled by investors.
Each team plays the group stage matches in a double round robin format; the top four teams with the most points qualify for the playoffs, culminating in the final. The league is based in the Pakistan Cricket Board office in Lahore.
4. Natwest T20 Blast
The T20 Blast, currently named the Vitality Blast for sponsorship reasons, is a professional Twenty20 cricket competition for English and Welsh first-class counties.
| Countries | England & Wales |
|---|---|
| Administrator | England and Wales Cricket Board |
| Format | Twenty20 |
| First edition | 2003 |
| Latest edition | 2022 |
| Tournament format | Group stage and knockout |
| Number of teams | 18 |
The competition was established by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 as the first professional Twenty20 league in the world. It is the top-level Twenty20 competition in England and Wales.
The competition has been known by a variety of names due to commercial sponsorship. It was known as the Twenty20 Cup from 2003 to 2009, the Friends Provident t20 and Friends Life t20 from 2010 to 2013, and the Natwest t20 Blast from 2014 to 2017.
The competition has been sponsored by insurance company Vitality since 2018 and is known as the Vitality Blast.
5. Caribbean Premier League
The Caribbean Premier League (abbreviated to CPL or CPLT20) is an annual Twenty20 cricket tournament held in the Caribbean.
| Countries | West Indies |
|---|---|
| Administrator | Cricket West Indies |
| Format | Twenty20 |
| First edition | 2013 |
| Latest edition | 2021 |
| Next edition | 2022 |
It was founded by Cricket West Indies in 2013 to replace the Caribbean Twenty20 as the premier Twenty20 competition in the Caribbean.
It is currently sponsored by Hero MotoCorp and consequently officially named the Hero CPL.
The inaugural tournament was won by the Jamaica Tallawahs who defeated the Guyana Amazon Warriors in the final.