In the year 2007, the world of cricket went through a massive transformation. The year saw a new format enthralling cricket fans across the globe through the T-20 World Cup in South Africa. Since then the T-20 cricket has dominated other formats and emerged as the lord of cricket. This frenzy for the format has created several successful T-20 leagues across the world, notably IPL.
Now it is even testing the soils of the United Arab Emirates to carve a niche of its own in the Gulf region. The Emirates Cricket Board is giving the finishing touches to a T-20 league to be launched in 2022, comprising six teams. As several layers of icing to this cake, The Glazer family (Man United owner), Mumbai Indians owner, Shah Rukh Khan etc are all set to be a part of the UAE T-20 league. Hence, the timing could not have been more appropriate to talk about some of the high-flying T-20 leagues across the countries.
The Indian Premier League (2008)
Even the worst critics of the IPL would agree that this T-20 league has truly changed the complexion of cricket altogether. If the 2007 World Cup in South Africa introduced the world to an attractive dimension to cricket, then the IPL popularised the shortest version of the game to a large extent. It was the success of the Indian T-20 league that prompted many countries to start a domestic 20-over franchise cricket of their own. Till now the Indian league has completed 14 editions and from next time onwards the league will also have two new teams to make it an affair involving 10 sides.
Big Bash League- Australia (2011)
This is another success story as far as the T-20 league is concerned and features eight teams. The league took a leaf out of IPL, which usually coincides with the vacation time of April, by scheduling matches during December, January and February to cash in on the festive periods of Christmas and New Year. It has even managed a tie-up with Warner Bros and the same has gone a long way in establishing the league as a brand. The BBL has already completed 10 editions and it is looking good for many more in the years to come. Unlike the IPL, the Australian T-20 league has a version involving its women cricketers as well.
Caribbean Premier League (2013)
It was founded by the Cricket West Indies to do away with the Caribbean Twenty20 and anoint the new league as the king of the Caribbean T-20 competition. The league comprises six teams and it has over the years climbed the popularity charts due to the presence of several high-profile international cricketers. The league has been attracting influential figures across the continents for some time and the list includes people like, SRK and Vijay Mallya, who have bought stakes in different teams. This testifies to the burgeoning craze of the West Indian league, which has already completed 9 seasons.
The NatWest T-20 Blast (2003)
The league came much before the T-20 World Cup and it happened to be the first-of-its-kind shortest format league. Established by the English and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), it is also the longest T-20 tournament as 18 teams take part in it. The matches are usually held on weekends to cash in on the holiday mood. It has so far had 19 editions and finals are reserved at the end of English cricket season. The schedule was initially scattered throughout the year, but since 2018 July and August were chosen as the window to conduct the league matches to capitalize on the summer school holidays.
Pakistan Super League (2015)
With 6 teams, the league founded by the Pakistan Cricket Board takes place between February and March each year. It is also attracting a lot of crowd due to the presence of players such as Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahid Afridi etc and has so far conducted six editions. Except for the inaugural and last seasons, the tournament has taken place in Pakistan. Going by its popularity, it goes without saying that the PSL has the potential to bring international cricket back to Pakistan in full swing.
