Are Franchise T20 Leagues Overshadowing The International Cricket?

 Are Franchise T20 Leagues Overshadowing The International Cricket?

International and Global Franchise League Cricket (Image Source: Twitter)

A near-final draft of the latest Future Tours Programme (FTP) laid out the International cricket which is going to be played by the 12 Full Members between May 2023 and April 2027. Two cycles of the World Test Championship (WTC), Major events, and plenty of bilateral white-ball cricket have been prioritized in the draft.

As per previous reports, the window for the Indian T20 League got extended as every year, a two-and-a-half-month window will be available for that biggest league. Along with it, both the England and Australia Cricket Boards also made some space for their Hundred and Big Bash League tournaments respectively.

The primacy of Franchise T20 Leagues is growing day by day among fans

This near-final draft of the upcoming FTP cycle of 2023-27 shows that the primacy of franchise T20 Leagues are growing every day and in the coming days, it can overshadow International cricket between countries. 

Last month, the Indian Cricket Board’s secretary Jay Shah said that the Indian T20 League is tipped to have an extended window from the next FTP cycle. After the sale of media rights at a record-breaking amount last month, it got confirmed that the Indian Board will look to organize 74 games in 2023 and 2024, 84 matches each in 2025 and 2026, and a maximum of 94 matches for the final year of the deal in 2027.

Both the England and Australia Cricket Board also managed to squeeze a small window for organizing their respective T20 Leagues. But, unlike the Indian T20 League, these leagues will not create any issues in international cricket. Other members have also managed to make space for their respective leagues. West Indies kept the August-September window for their T20 League while Bangladesh kept January free for the T20 League in each year of this FTP.

South Africa Cricket is also looking to put a new franchise T20 league which is set to launch in January 2023. Other members like Pakistan and New Zealand have also considered their space for organizing their respective T20 Leagues in the next five-year cycle. However, the Pakistan Cricket Board have shown their concern over the growing popularity of T20 Leagues all over the world above International cricket.

Steven

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