Top 10 Cricket Leagues In The World

Top 10 Cricket Leagues In The World | What Are They?

Introduction: Top 10 Cricket Leagues In The World

Since there are so many cricket leagues that are organized in the world, it is obvious that you as a cricket fan would be interested in wanting to know about the top 10 cricket leagues in the world. Worry not, because we are going to take you on a ride which will be covering these 10 thoroughly.

We hope that after you have been through this list, you will be much more knowledgeable about cricket leagues. Who knows, maybe you will even start to follow one of these that aren’t that much famous.

So, without further ado, let’s go!

Indian Premier League

No discussion about cricket leagues can be ever complete without talking about the Indian Premier League (IPL). The league started out in 2008 and has went on to become the biggest domestic league in the world. The current champions are the Mumbai Indians who have won the tournament a record 5 times.

Interestingly, the highest run-scorer in this league is the Indian skipper Virat Kohli. The last season of the IPL was played abroad in the UAE (United Arab Emirates) due to the coronavirus epidemic. Fans are looking forward to the next season happening in India itself.

Big Bash League

Started in the year 2011, Big Bash is an Australian T-20 league in which 8 teams take part every year. Since Australia is in the Southern Hemisphere, the league takes place during the summer months of December to February. The current champion is the Sydney Sixers.

All the 8 teams are named after the major Australian cities. Melbourne and Sydney have two teams each named after them. The most successful team in this league has been the Perth Scorchers. Cricket Australia organized the league.

While some of you might be thinking that the league might only be popular in Australia. But, this isn’t the case as it is broadcasted in a lot of other countries.

T20 Blast

Held in England and Wales, this T20 league has the honour of being the first-ever T20 league of the world. It started in the year 2003. A strange fact about this tournament is that it was given various names in different years depending on who was sponsoring it.

As of now, a total of 18 teams compete for the title each year. It is managed by the England and Wales cricket board. The tournament can also be termed as the earliest proponent of T20 cricket before it became mainstream.

Bangladesh Premier League

The current champions are the Rajshahi Royals while the league was started in the year 2012. Seven teams play fight year for the title. The last edition got cancelled due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The names are named after well-known Bangladeshi cities. Chattogram Challengers is currently the most successful team in terms of the number of matches won. As of now, it is administered by the Bangladesh cricket board.

Hopefully, the next edition for sure will be organised. And cricket fans in Bangladesh will be able to enjoy their domestic T20 league again.

Super Smash

It’s a New Zealand based T20 league that started in the year 2005. It will be referred to as the Dream11 Super Smash since Dream11 has decided to sponsor the league till 2026. It should also be noted that IPL 2020’s main sponsor too was Dream11.

Wellington Firebirds are the current champions while Auckland Aces have managed to win the greatest number of titles. You might also be surprised to know that the original name of the tournament in 2005 was New Zealand T20 Competition. There is a women’s version too of the league which has been since 2007.

Caribbean Premier League

Managed by Cricket West Indies, the league was first held in the year 2013. Trinbago Knight Riders are the current champions and are also the most successful team with four titles to their name. The teams mainly represent the countries in the Caribbean region.

They also used to be a team by the name of Antigua Hawksbills in an initial couple of editions of the tournaments but it is now defunct. Its main sponsor as of now is Hero MotoCorp and hence it is quite popular with the name Hero CPL. The winner of the first edition was the Jamaica Tallawahs.

Mzansi Super League

This is one of the latest T20 cricket tournaments that have started to be organized. It is local to South Africa and its first edition took place in 2018. Till now, only two editions have been held (2018 and 2019) since the 2020 one was cancelled due to Covid-19 pandemic.

In this tournament too has 8 teams (was planned for 2020) compete for the title. The organizing body is Cricket South Africa.  The teams are named after the major South African cities. Interestingly, MSL is broadcasted into several nations.

Pakistan Super League

Also popularly known as PSL, it’s also a young tournament in terms of age. Its first edition took place just five years back in 2016. It is administered by the Pakistan Cricket Board. As of now, Karachi Kings holds the title (which is also their first one).

There are six teams which are mostly named after cities of Pakistan. Some are also named after provinces of Pakistan. Interestingly, it is broadcasted in India too besides dozens of other countries in the world.

Abu Dhabi T10 League

One of the latest innovations in cricket. This league has halved the overs involved in a T20 match and each of its matches just lasts an hour and a half. It is organized in the UAE (United Arab Emirates) since 2017. More so, it also has the approval from the ICC (International Cricket Council).

Critics have criticized it for having very a smaller number of overs to allow the batsmen or the bowlers to set in. Yet, it continues to be popular. Its 2021 edition is currently in progress meanwhile and the winner is hence yet to be determined.

Global T20 League

It’s a Canadian T20 league that started just three years back in 2018. Besides Cricket Canada, the Bombay Sports Limited is also an organizer/administrator. One would expect a cricket league wouldn’t be in Canada. But, the sport is gaining popularity in other countries where cricket wasn’t popular earlier.

This tournament too lost its 2020 edition due to the pandemic. The total number of teams competing is six and the current champions are the Winnipeg Hawks. Interestingly, it is the only league in North America that has approval from the ICC.

Conclusion

We hope that you like the article. We have numbered the leagues on a random basis since we don’t want to differentiate between them based on their popularity. Hopefully, we will see some more leagues in the future and especially in the countries where cricket isn’t that popular as a sport.

Efforts are already underway to achieve this. Do let us know your feedback about our list of top 10 cricket leagues in the world. If you feel that there are some leagues that we should mention besides these, then feel free to drop a comment. We will be more than happy to include them as honorary mentions.

Also, don’t forget to share this post with your cricket fan friends.

 

 

 

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