Former India player turned commentator Aakash Chopra has picked his top five T20 leagues across the globe. While talking about the Indian Premier League (IPL) was the best, he said that there was close competition for the second position as well. Franchise-based cricket leagues have evolved across the world in the last few years as well. The Mumbai Indians (MI) recently acquired a 49 percent stake in the Oval Invincibles team in The Hundred, with a few other IPL franchises also showing interest in acquiring as well.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel ‘Aakash Chopra,’ he said, “I will start with the IPL, of course. It’s at No. 1. It’s head and shoulders above the rest. It’s becoming bigger and bigger. It might be a five to six-month league going forward, just like the English Premier League, or it might have two editions, a big league of two to two-and-a-half months, and a three-week league. There is a fight at No. 2. You could have kept the Big Bash League at No. 2 because it’s been consistently happening for the longest time. A good board organizes it. They also revolutionalize the game a little. Their packaging was excellent.”
“However, I am actually going with a bit of a greenhorn. It has started recently and I feel it has been outstanding. I am going with SA20 at No. 2. I like SA20 a lot, not because I have worked in it a little, I have also voiced Sydney Thunder’s highlights in Hindi, but there was a fan connect in the SA20 from the first day, and the standard of cricket is very good,” Chopra added.
In the same video, Aakash Chopra picked up the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and the Pakistan Super League (PSL) to complete the top five leagues as well.
“There is a big tussle for No. 4 and No. 5. One is the Caribbean Premier League, which has been happening for a very long time, and the other is the Pakistan Super League. I am a little split between these two leagues. I was willing to go with the Caribbean Premier League, but the Pakistan Super League is also equally good,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
