According to former England captain Andrew Strauss, the Indian Premier League may exceed the American football’s NFL by 2040 and outperform all other domestic sporting events worldwide. According to Strauss, the recent debut of the women’s league, the Women’s Premier League (WPL), will significantly advance the growth of women’s cricket. Similar competitions, such as the Caribbean Premier League and Australia’s Big Bash, have drawn inspiration from the IPL, a very successful franchise T20 event funded by wealthy businesses and famous personalities in the entertainment industry.
As a result, players on the international T20 circuit can support themselves well without having to play for their countries. “As the Indian economy grows, it is expected that by the time it reaches parity with the size of the USA in 2040, the value of the IPL is likely to be six times what it is today – this is going to be the biggest domestic sporting tournament in the world, bar none,” Strauss said while giving the Cowdrey lecture at Lord’s.
“If you allow yourself to keep bound up in the thesis that the purpose of the game is to bring diverse people together, whether playing or watching, and to allow cricket to educate and connect, then surely the rise of franchise cricket is one of the great steps forward. More players are playing in different parts of the world, experiencing new places, and meeting new people, more and more people around the globe are engaged with the great game that we all love so much,” he added.