Rating the various Twenty20 leagues around the world
Twenty20 cricket has almost hijacked the cricketing world. This format and this concept originally rolled out by the England and Wales cricket board in 2003. Back then, it was more like a hit and miss game, primarily aimed at increasing the reach of the game. Even the players were not very serious about the format and for them it was more like a day out with friends in front of an audience.
However, in 2007 this format saw a change, and cricket as a result changed. The World T20 in South Africa revealed the true worth and potential of this condensed format. Just like that, the level of competition, the players focus and everything around the game flicked another switch, and this was a serious brand of cricket.
And then came the Indian Premier League, which down the years has only gone from strength to strength. That the IPL has changed the dimension of cricket will not be an understatement by any means. 3 hours of blaring music, the jazz and then there is cricket sandwiched between them.
Franchise system was dabbled into for the very first time, and there is absolutely no surprise that different countries around the world have tried to start their own T20 leagues.
We take a look at the top 5 leagues in the world and have ranked them accordingly.
#5 Ram Slam T20 (South Africa)
This competition was first contested in 2003-04 and has seen the participation of 6 franchise teams. It is one of the oldest tournaments, and thus the fact that it has not yet managed to carve out a niche for itself is nothing but a crying shame.
Although, the general public in South Africa have been quite receptive of the format, the sight of the empty stand all throughout the tournament is sore to the eyes. The main reason behind this is the fact that this tournament somehow does not get top quality international players into its fold. Also, marquee South African players give the tournament a miss, owing to the hectic schedule. Even if they do turn up, it is only for sporadic matches which are few and far in between.
Hence, there is no euphoria around when the Ram Slam is going on, few do not even bother to gather information about the champions and stuff. There is no denying the possibility of a more grand tournament in the years to come, but for now, there is a lot of catching up to do, both in the marketing terms as well as the level of players turning out for their respective franchises.