A group of cricket teams competing against each other in a cricket season is called a cricket league. But you already know that even if you have a vague interest in cricket. But do you know about the world’s popular cricket leagues? If you are playing and participating in a fantasy cricket league, you’ll need this information to hope to win.
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Indian Premier League (IPL)
Love it or hate it, but you can’t ignore the Indian Premier League. It is one of the world’s most popular T20 cricket leagues, and cricket fans will argue it is the best of its kind. Moreover, IPL’s brand value is worth billions, with seven franchises in the T20 league having billion-dollar valuations.
Established in 2008, the 15th season was played on 26th March 2022 to 29th May 2022. Gujarat Titans won the title while the most runs went to Rajasthan Royals’ Jos Buttler.
IPL has ten teams, and they are divided into three Indian states and seven Indian cities. In the 16th season, the total number of matches will be 74, and it is slated to commence from 25th March 2024 to 28th May 2024. The participating teams are Chennai Super Kings, Delhi Capitals, Rajasthan Royals, Mumbai Indians, Punjab Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders, Gujarat Titans, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Sunrise Hyderabad, and Lucknow Super Giants.
Big Bash League (BBL)
Big Bash League, or BBL, is an Australian T20 league established in 2011. BBL is at par with IPL and is regarded as one of the world’s top cricket leagues.
The BBL replaced the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash and has eight city-based franchises. The matches are played during December, January, and February. Six of the eight teams have won the title at least once.
In the league’s short history, the Perth Scorchers are the most successful team. The team has won the title four times consecutively for two years. The Sydney Sixers have also won consecutively for two years and have three championships. The other four teams that have won the title are Brisbane Heat, Adelaide Strikers, Sydney Thunder, and Melbourne Renegades.
In the 2021-22 season, Perth Scorchers won the championship, and they’re the defending champions.
Caribbean Premier League (CPL)
The Caribbean Premier League, or CPL, is the annual Twenty20 cricket league held in the Caribbean. The league was founded in 2013 by Cricket West Indies to replace the Caribbean Twenty20.
The 2022 season was sponsored by Hero MotoCorp and officially named the Hero CPL. The Jamaica Tallawahs won the latest edition of the tournament and defeated the Guyana Amazon Warriors.
The tournament has six teams; the most successful team is the Trinbago Knight Riders. They have won four titles. The Jamaica Tallawahs and the Barbados Tridents have each won two titles.
Vitality Blast
Established in 2003, Vitality Blast is a top-tier tournament with eighteen teams played in England and Wales. The teams represent their countries. It is the first-ever T20 league that started five years before the IPL. Initially, it was named the T20 Blast, but for sponsorship purposes, it changed to Vitality Blast.
This tournament is one of the richest in the world and is run by the England and Wales Cricket Board. The current champions are the Hampshire Hawks, with three titles.
In this competition, cricket lovers get to enjoy a whopping 133 nail-biting matches.
Pakistan Super League (PSL)
Pakistan Super League, or PSL, is governed and undertaken by the Pakistan Cricket Board. The league was founded on 9th September 2015 with five teams. Currently, there are six teams representing Pakistan’s six cities, and the competition is contested during February and March of every year.
Unlike other tournaments, the PSL is a single entity, and the franchises are controlled and owned by the investors. So they do not operate as an association of independently-owned teams.
So far, there have been seven seasons of PSL, and Islamabad United has two titles. In the 2022 session, Lahore Qalandars won the championship by beating Multan Sultans.
Abu Dhabi T10 League
Launched in 2017, the Abu Dhabi T20 cricket league is owned by T Ten Sports Management. It is a cricket league in the United Arab Emirates and is approved by the Emirates Cricket Board. The duration of each match is ninety minutes, and the matches are 10-overs-a-side.
In 2018, the International Cricket Council sanctioned the league as a semi-professional cricket tournament.
The tournament has witnessed a year-on-year growth in terms of revenue and viewership. The 2021-22 edition reached 342 million viewers and is valued at USD 621.2 million. The league’s chairman is Shaji Ul Mulk, and the winner of the latest edition is the Deccan Gladiators. They beat the New York Strikers by 37 runs.
Bangladesh Premier League (BPL)
The Bangladesh Premier League, or BPL, is a Twenty20 cricket league with seven franchises. It is one of the three professional T20 seasons in Bangladesh and the 16th most-attended tournament in the world. In the league stage, each team faces the other twice, and the top four teams advance to the playoffs, a single-elimination game, and two qualifier games.
The league was formed in 2011, and the first season was held in 2012. The current champion is the Comilla Victorians, and they have three titles.
Conclusion
These are some top cricket leagues in the world enjoyed by cricket fans. However, several others are not mentioned here, such as Masters Champions League, Sri Lanka Premier League, Nepal Premier League, etc. You can participate in most of these leagues by creating an account in fantasy cricket games.
