On April 25, the Indian Premier League will be halfway through its 19th edition. Coverage of it dominates the Indian-owned and based cricket media.
Last week, Harsha Bhogle, one of its long-serving commentators and journalists, declared that the IPL “has to be one of the greatest sporting phenomena in the world at the moment.” This opinion attracted a swath of alternative views. These centered on the IPL being attractive only to Indians, unlike the English Premier League, which has a global following; that it goes on for too long, something that is being reflected in less-than-full stadiums; and that it has become ostentatiously vulgar in its commercialization.
What is not in doubt is the IPL’s catalytic effect on the economics of cricket and the impetus given to its globalization. Concurrent with the IPL, there is a plethora of international and professional cricket events being played by both men and women.
The Pakistan Super League, which is heading toward the final stages, has had its share of incidents. In the opening match, the white ball turned pink. The kit of the Hyderabad Kingsmen is maroon. Its players rubbed the ball on their trousers before returning it to the bowler. In a short while, dye from the kit transferred to the ball. Social media was not slow to latch on to this embarrassment. There has also been an umpire’s ruling in the final over of one match that the ball’s condition had been deliberately altered by the fielding side. A five-run penalty was imposed that affected the outcome of the match, adversely for the fielding side.
In Nepal, the men’s team is hosting the UAE in two T20I matches, ahead of an ODI tri-series between these two countries and Oman. Originally, this was due to be played between March 10-20 but its start was postponed until April 25 because of the conflict in the Middle East. The series forms part of the 2024-2026 Cricket World Cup League 2 tournament, which is part of the qualification process for the 2027 ODI World Cup. Currently, the UAE and Nepal sit at the bottom of this eight-team league, from which the top four progress to the next qualification stage.
In Kigali, Rwanda, the inaugural ICC Women’s Challenge T20I Trophy opened on April 18. Five teams are participating — Rwanda, Italy, Nepal, the US and Vanuatu. They were the highest-placed teams from each of the ICC’s five regions to not take part in the inaugural Emerging Nations Trophy in November 2025 in Thailand. This was contested by the top-eight associate member teams. Thailand won the tournament on net run rate, after four teams tied with five wins each. The other three teams were the UAE, Netherlands and Scotland.
Both of these tournaments have the objective of providing more match exposure to associate members women’s teams, in line with the ICC’s commitment to deliver competitive cricket for all members, so as to continuously grow the women’s game. Another manifestation of this occurred in February 2026, also in Bangkok, with the Asia Cricket Council’s 2026 Women’s Asia Cup Rising Stars tournament. Eight teams participated — the A teams of India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan, plus the senior national teams of Thailand, Nepal, Malaysia and the UAE. India A won the event.
Currently, the South African women’s team is hosting India in a T20I series, while Bangladesh is hosting Sri Lanka. These matches serve as preparation for the forthcoming women’s T20 I World Cup in England that starts on June 12. Other participating teams will travel to the UK and Ireland in May for further preparation.
In the past decade, women’s cricket has developed from being at cricket’s margins to being firmly in the mainstream. Furthermore, it exists and operates within its own time and space, largely independently of the men’s game. The exception is The Hundred, in which the women’s matches are played immediately before the men’s matches. In the domestic T20 tournament in England and Wales, the Vitality Blast, the men’s and women’s schedules are separate. This year both will overlap with the women’s World Cup, the final of which is set for July 5. It promises to be a summer packed with women’s cricket on a scale that was unimaginable ten years ago. This will be further enhanced by the broadcasting of the final, the semifinals, the opening match and selected group stage matches on free-to-air television, via Sky Mix and the Sky Sports app. This will allow new audiences to be reached.
Despite the IPL and PSL currently featuring a number of the world’s leading male players, there is some international men’s cricket being played. In this respect, Cricket New Zealand is to be commended. Eight of their leading players were signed by IPL teams and four by PSL teams, an entire national team. All were given No Objection Certificates by their board. Undeterred by these absences, a New Zealand men’s team has traveled to Bangladesh for a six-match white-ball series of three T20Is and three ODIs between April 17 and May 2. In this way, younger players are being given the opportunity to gain international experience and be prepared for when they are asked to step up on a regular basis. Even more remarkably, a New Zealand men’s A team traveled to Sri Lanka to play three one-day matches and two four-day matches between April 5 and 28. New Zealand consistently punches above its weight in international cricket, with less resources than other countries. A policy of exposing their next-in-line cricketers to quality opposition and continuous learning and improvement, both individually and as unit, underpins this consistency.
Cricket-playing countries have adopted different strategies to adjust to the shifts in cricket’s landscape caused by the combined impact of the IPL and Indian dominance of the game’s politics and finances. The effects are ongoing. An obvious one is the continued rush to have domestic franchise cricket. It is understood that Cricket New Zealand declined an opportunity from Cricket Australia to enter one New Zealand team in the Big Bash League in 2028. Instead, it preferred to work toward launching its own privately owned franchise T20 league to replace its existing Super Smash tournament. Rumours continue to circulate around the privatization of the men’s and women’s Big Bash Leagues in Australia. This week, it has been reported that Cricket Australia is set to override objections from the state cricket boards of New South Wales and Queensland and press on with testing the market with potential investors.
There has also been news this week about developments in the planned European Premier League, fronted by Indian film star, Abhishek Bachchan, who was subject of an Arab News interview in February 2025. The league is to be based on six franchises in six cities. Those in Amsterdam, Belfast and Edinburgh have been established. Now, the identity and owners of the Glasgow franchise have been revealed. Backed by the Mugafi Group, as the founding partner, the Glasgow Mugafians will be owned by Tansha Batra, who is head of partnerships and brand at Mugafi. The legendary West Indian cricketer, Chris Gayle, has joined as co-owner and global brand ambassador.
Slowly, but surely, T20 franchise cricket is establishing footholds in all of the major playing areas. Its continued expansion seems to be inexorable. Earlier this week, Mark Taylor, a former Australian captain with 108 Test match appearances, weighed into the debate on Australia’s Channel Nine.
In Taylor’s opinion: “T20 cricket almost shouldn’t be called cricket because it’s a different game. You are taking out the accountability of getting out, which was the essence of batting when I was a kid.” An extreme view, maybe, but one that will resonate with those who avoid watching the IPL and other T20 franchise leagues.
Thankfully for them, cricket in other formats remain, but are being shored up by income generated from and by franchise cricket. A heavy responsibility lies with national boards to devise and provide structures that allow cricket to flourish and be played and watched by all of its constituent parts.
