Here is a list of the top most popular cricket tournaments in world cricket history, as decided by fan interest, as well as the most famous and significant international cricket tournaments in cricket history.
Cricket is one of the world’s most well-known and popular sports. As a result of the IPL providing a platform for emerging talent, there are currently a multitude of great cricket players and promising young talents competing in numerous international championships and tournaments throughout the world.
There are several versions of the game, including ODI, Test, and T20 cricket, as well as numerous cricket leagues. So, without further ado, let’s dive into the specifics of the world’s Top 10 most popular cricket tournaments.
10) Commonwealth bank series:
The Commonwealth bank series or the Australian Tri-Series was an annual one-day international (ODI) cricket competition played in Australia between Australia and two visiting teams.
The series was the primary format for international one-day cricket in Australia for most of its early history, taking place during the peak of the Australian cricket season in the summer months of December, January, and February.
The tri-series debuted in 1979–80 and was played every season until 2007–08. Since 2007-08, it has only been held twice, with stand-alone ODI series against a single touring opponent taking its place.
The World Series Cricket programme, sponsored by Kerry Packer, pioneered the notion of a three-team international series known as a “tri-series” in cricket. Packer was eager to capitalise on what he regarded as high interest in one-day international cricket, and in the 1977–78 and 1978–79 seasons, he organised lengthy tri-series with teams from Australia, the West Indies, and the rest of the world.
These competitions have never received One Day International by International cricket council (ICC ) or List A status but still have a considerable fan following and are one of the most popular cricket tournaments in the world.
9) ACC Asia cup:
The Asian Cricket Council Asia Cup is a men’s One Day International and Twenty20 International cricket tournament organised by the Asian Cricket Council. It was formed in 1983 as a gesture to foster goodwill among Asian countries by the Asian Cricket Council. It was originally planned to take place every two years.
The Asia Cup is cricket’s sole continental championship, and the winning team is crowned Asia’s champions. It alternates between ODI and T20 forms every two years.
The first Asia Cup was held in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, in 1984, where the council’s offices were located (until 1995). Due to deteriorating cricketing relations with Sri Lanka, India boycotted the 1986 event.
Due to severe political relations with India, Pakistan boycotted the 1990–91 tournament, and the 1993 event was cancelled for the same reason. The ACC stated that the tournament would be conducted every two years beginning in 2009.
The International cricket council ( ICC ) has declared that all Asia Cup games have official ODI status.
8) Border-Gavaskar Trophy:
The Border–Gavaskar Trophy is an international test cricket series played between India and Australia. It is also currently participating in the ICC’s future tours programme, with unpredictable time gaps between matches.
Throughout the event, Team India has been one of the most successful. These test match series were a tribute to Sunil Gavaskar, India’s greatest Test cricket batsman, and Allan Border, Australia’s first to reach 10,000 Test runs.
In this competition, India has been an exceptionally successful and powerful squad. Sachin Tendulkar, the God of Cricket, has scored the most runs in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Sachin Tendulkar scored 3,262 runs in 34 matches against Australia between 1996 and 2013.
Cricket fans love to see the battle between the two great teams of the game, cricket Australia and Team India which makes it one of the most popular cricket tournaments in the world.
7) Natwest Series:
Since 2000, One Day International cricket tournaments in England have been known as the NatWest Series. The National Westminster Bank is sponsoring the tournaments.
The NatWest Series began as a three-team triangular tournament including England and two visiting international teams. Each of the three teams would play the other two-three times, with the top two teams meeting in a final at Lord’s in London.
The ten matches would be played at the seven international grounds (Lord’s, Edgbaston, Headingley, Old Trafford, The Oval, Trent Bridge, and the Riverside Ground), as well as other county cricket grounds such as Canterbury’s St Lawrence Ground, Cardiff’s Sophia Gardens, Southampton’s Rose Bowl, and Bristol.
The inaugural NatWest Series took place in 2000, a year after England hosted the World Cup. The two visiting teams were the West Indies and Zimbabwe, with England and Zimbabwe competing in the first final. England won by 6 wickets, thanks to Darren Gough’s 3–20 and Alec Stewart’s 97.
6) Champions league Twenty20:
The Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20) was an annual international Twenty20 cricket tournament played amongst the top qualifying domestic cricket teams from major cricketing nations.
The tournament started in 2008, with the first edition held in October 2009. Three countries own the Champions League Twenty20 tournament: the BCCI, Cricket Australia, and Cricket South Africa. Domestic teams of all ages and experience levels battle against one another.
Furthermore, in this stage, players must prove their worth before moving on to the next stage, the cash-rich Indian Premier League. In this competition, Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians both won two CLT20 titles.
The level of craze and excitement for the Champions League T20 by the fans makes it one of the most popular cricket tournaments in the world.
5) Indian premier league:
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a professional T20 cricket league in India that has ten teams from ten different cities each summer.
The IPL is a league that brings together Youngsters, International Players, and Indian Players, and the majority of the matches are incredibly thrilling because of the combination of glory, glitter, and all the game has to offer in each season.
There have been 15 seasons so far, and practically all of them have made headlines, including player auctions, IPL new teams, and a variety of other events in every way possible.
The IPL is the world’s most-attended cricket league, ranking sixth among all sports leagues in average attendance in 2014. It is now ranked second in the top ten leagues in terms of average attendance as of 2022. In 2010, the IPL became the world’s first athletic event to be live-streamed on YouTube.
The brand value of Indian Premier League teams, on the other hand, has progressively improved throughout the years. In 2020, the IPL brand is expected to be worth $6.1 billion. The two additional franchises added ahead of the IPL 2022, however, were sold for Rs 7,090 crore and Rs 5,625 crore, respectively, demonstrating the IPL’s success over the last 15 years.
This is the most popular domestic cricket league in the world.
4) The Ashes Series:
On August 29, 1882, Australia defeated England for the first time on English soil at The Oval, and the word “Ashes” was established. Since then, the two teams have contended for ‘The Ashes,’ one of cricket’s most prized trophies. So far, 340 Tests have been played in the historic series.
The Ashes are thought to be held by the team that wins the most recent Test series. If the test series between England and Australia is drawn, the current Ashes holder keeps the trophy. The name was derived from a humorous obituary published in the British newspaper The Sporting Times shortly after Australia’s maiden Test victory on English soil at The Oval in 1882.
The first Ashes Test series was directly connected with the series played in Australia in 1882-83, for which English captain Ivo Bligh had promised to “recover those ashes” prior to the series. As a result, the English media dubbed the tour “The Quest to Reclaim the Ashes.” It’s no wonder that it’s one of the best Test cricket series and one of the world’s top 10 most popular cricket events.
3) T20 world cup:
The international Twenty20 cricket championship is the ICC T20 World Cup (formerly known as the ICC World Twenty20). The first event took place in 2011, and India won. This had a significant impact on India, and T20 became highly popular worldwide.
The level of excitement and energy for the event is unbreakable for either fans or participants. The competition, which is managed by cricket’s governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), presently has 16 teams, including the top ten teams in the rankings at the time of the deadline, as well as six extra teams picked through the T20 World Cup Qualifier. All matches are Twenty20 Internationals.
The trophy, which weighs around 7.5 kilogrammes, is the most popular as well as one of the shortest competitions, and it has already generated some of cricket’s most popular shows.
The T20 world cup is indeed on of the most watched and most popular cricket tournaments in the world.
2) ICC Champions Trophy:
The International Cricket Council organises the ICC Champions Trophy, a One-Day International (ODI) cricket tournament. The Champions Trophy was supposed to expire with the 2013 competition, however due to its popularity, it was extended until 2017.
The ICC agreed in 2018 to replace the competition with the World Twenty20 championship, which would be conducted every two years, thus no Champions Trophy was played in 2021. The race was resurrected for the 2025 season as part of the 2021 Future Tour Programme.
The ICC confirmed in November 2021 that the tournament would return to Pakistan in 2025, with India hosting in 2029.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) established the ICC Champions Trophy, a One-Day International (ODI) cricket tournament second only in importance to the Cricket World Cup. It began in 1998 as the International Cricket Council (ICC) KnockOut Tournament and has been contested every four years since then.
It is no surprise that a tournament like the Champions trophy is present here at the top 2. Its popularity was something which forced the ICC to bring back the tournament on the demand of the fans.
1) ICC cricket world cup: Most popular cricket tournaments
One of the most popular One Day International (ODI) cricket competitions is the International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricket World Cup.
The ICC World Cup is the most prestigious and honoured tournament, as well as the largest cricket event, held once every four years, and it is also the site of some of the best World Cup matches in cricket history. The competition is divided into four stages: Super 8, 6, Semi-Finals, and Finals.
The tournament (ICC cricket World Cup) is one of the most watched sporting events in the history of cricket. The International Cricket Council refers to it as the “flagship event of the international cricket calendar.” It is the best cricket world cup, as well as one of the most renowned and largest competitions in the globe.
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