Top 10 Most Popular Cricket Tournaments In The World

Over the years, this game has become an intoxication to all cricket buffs and sports lovers. There are now innumerable great cricket players & budding youngsters taking part in different international competitions and tournaments throughout the world. And now, we will look into the most popular cricket tournaments.

ICC Cricket World Cup is undoubtedly the most popular cricket tournament in the world. Since 1975, this international tournament has seen several winners, such as Australia, England, and India. The ICC Champions Trophy and the ICC T20 World Cup also deserve their place among the most liked and most wacthed cricket tournaments right now.

However, there are many other tournaments that have equal importance. So, without any further ado, let’s dive into the cricketing world.

Most Popular Cricket Tournaments | 2024 Power Ranking

Based on the global reach and amazing popularity, here goes the list of popular cricket competitions in the world right now.

10. The Australian Tri-Series

• Administration: Cricket Australia
• Format: One Day International (1979-2015) & Twenty20 International (2018-Now)
• First Edition: 1979–80
• Most Successful Team: Australia

Common Bank Serier, aka The Australian Tri-Series, was initially popular as Benson and Hedges World Series. Later Carlton and United, then the VB series, and now the name is the Australian Tri-Series. It is an official Australian series taking place during the months of Dec and Jan-Feb.

It’s just after Christmas and continues the Australian summer season. The tournament has benefited the hosting team to the utmost, as they won 20 out of 31 times.

But it never disappointed the fans and cricket lovers. And ICC always gives it a lot of significance in its cricket calendar.

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9. Asia Cup

• Administration: Asian Cricket Council
• Format: One Day International & Twenty20 International
• First Edition: 1984
• Most Successful Team: India

As the name suggests, it is just like a world cup with all the Asian countries like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, UAE, etc. Quite a popular cricket fixture, it is an initiative by Asian Cricket Council and started in the year 1984.

It’s been the largest tournament on the Asian continent so far and has already witnessed some of the most heated moments in India vs. Pakistan Cricket.

It didn’t take place twice so far due to political reasons and relations among the nations at that time. Hence, this is a rather restricted world cup tournament for all Asian countries.

8. Border-Gavaskar Trophy

• Administration: BCCI & Cricket Australia
• Format: Test Cricket
• First Edition: 1996-97
• Most Successful Team: India

This is a famous battle of 2 nations, India and Australia. The format played tests, and it has witnessed the most exciting ICC cricket tournament test matches ever.

It was a tribute to Australia’s Allan Border and India’s Sunil Gavaskar, as both had been the first to reach the 10,000-run club.

Also, they were the skippers of the respective teams at that time. India has been very successful and dominant in this tournament.

7. NatWest Series

• Administration: England Cricket Board
• Format: One Day International
• First Edition: 2000
• Most Successful Team: England

Natwest is an exclusively England-based One-day International tournament and is one of the very best cricket tournaments. It kicked off in the year 2000, and National Westminster Bank sponsored it.

It is usually a triangular series where each team meets another twice in the series, and the top two teams fight for finals at The Mecca of Cricket and one of the best cricket stadiums in the world, Lords.

The most remarkable match was the final in the year 2004. India chased the massive target of 324 against England. And no one can forget dada’s shirt-twirling moments at the Lord’s Gallery until the game exists.

6. Indian Premier League

• Administration: Reliance Industries
• Format: Twenty20
• First Edition: 2008
• Most Successful Team: Mumbai Indians

It is India’s most viewed sports phenomenon and a great name for popular world cricket. This is the tournament that unites youngsters, Indian players, and super-expensive International players in the same squad.

Most of the matches are nerve-wracking and intensely exciting. It is the tournament that goes for 2 long months as a summer bonanza. So far, there have been 15 seasons, and almost all were in the news in every possible way.

It is also the source of many controversies. But still, this cricket tournament is a combination of glitz, glory, and glamour.

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5. Champions League Twenty20

• Administration: BCCI, Cricket Australia, and Cricket South Africa
• Format: Twenty20
• First Edition: 2008
• Most Successful Team: Chennai Super Kings & Mumbai Indians

It is also popular as CLT20. This is one of the famous global cricket tournaments in domestic level cricket. Every year the top played cricketing nations participate in this tournament.

It is owned by 3 countries BCCI, Cricket Australia, and Cricket South Africa. All the domestic teams involving young and experienced players fight with the other team.

It’s such a grand spectacle, with the teams giving a fine performance here. In simple words, it is the next level or the next step of the IPL. It is the newly emerged tournament that will, of course, need some time to establish itself.

4. Ashes Series

• Administration: International Cricket Council (ICC)
• Format: Test Cricket
• First Edition: 1882-83
• Most Successful Team: Australia

The Ashes is the massive clash of two continents, two nations. It’s a great rivalry between England and Australia. The name of this tournament has a rather interesting background story. When England faced defeat against the Aussies in 1882.

One of the Journalists wrote an Obituary “in affectionate remembrance of English cricket who died at The Oval. The body will be cremated, and the ashes will be taken to Australia.“

Australian supremacy was reluctantly evident, and then England took a pledge that they would be taking back the ashes, and they did it in the very next series. No wonder it is one of the best cricket championships in the world.

3. T20 World Cup

• Administration: International Cricket Council (ICC)
• Format: T20 International
• First Edition: 2007
• Most Successful Team: West Indies

The trophy weighs up to 7.5 Kilograms and is the most popular tournament in the T20 format, and it has already witnessed some of the biggest sixes in cricket. It has the best source of entertainment and excitement.

The very first tournament started in the year 2011, and surprisingly India took it away. That is how this format made a huge impact in India. And T20 World Cup became highly popular in all the nations soon enough, making it one of the most famous cricket tournaments around the world.

The excitement and energy are unimaginable! Here the strength and selection of shots matter rather than technique and class defense.

2. ICC Champions Trophy

• Administration: International Cricket Council (ICC)
• Format: One-Day International
• First Edition: 1998
• Most Successful Team: India & Australia

It is an ICC initiative tournament and stands stoic as the second most important after the great ICC World Cup. Initially, it had the name ICC Knockout tournament, and later it got this name. It also has a mini world cup.

Sadly, the Champions Trophy was last played in 2017, and since then, cricket fans have been waiting for this iconic competition to take place again. And recently, Pakistan is selected to host the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy.

No wonder this tournament got its place on this list due to its long legacy, heated cricket matches, and massive support from cricket fans from all over the globe.

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1. ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup

• Administration: International Cricket Council (ICC)
• Format: One-Day International
• First Edition: 1975
• Most Successful Team: Australia

The ICC World Cup is the most prestigious and honorable tournament and the biggest cricket bash, taking place once every 4 years, and is also the home of the best matches. This is also the world’s most-viewed cricket event.

Meanwhile, ICC claims it as the biggest and, of course, number one event in Cricket, having a good number of matches. The event has 4 stages, Super 8, 6, also semi-finals, and finals.

Teams put their utmost effort into Cricket’s best trophy. Every cricket player aspires to win, and every cricket lover dreams of what their country holds. And this year, in 2023, India is going to host this prestigious world cup.

Final Words

No matter what, every series and every match is important in Cricket. These were the most popular cricket tournaments that you could not help getting into. Comment below and leave your opinion if you liked the list.

Most Popular Cricket Tournaments – 2024 Infographics

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FAQs

Q. Which is the biggest cricket tournament in the world?

ICC Cricket World Cup is the biggest tournament in the world. It has a huge viewership in at least 20 countries, while it has a moderate viewership in 50 more countries. Besides, this tournament also attracts one of the most number of stadium attendances.

Q. What are the most popular short-format cricket tournament?

Both ICC ODI World Cup and ICC T20 World Cup are now the most popular short-format cricket tournaments in the world. Both these tournaments have massive viewership and stadium attendance as well.

Q. Which is the best cricket league in the world?

Indian Premier League, or IPL, is now considered the best cricket league in the world. It not only has a huge stadium audience and massive TV viewership, but great players from all over the world come to participate in this grand event.

Q. Which is the most popular T20 cricket tournament right now?

The ICC T20 World Cup is by far the best and most popular Twenty20 cricket tournament in the world right now. Consisting of 16 teams, this tournament has entertained cricket fans since 2007. West Indies is the most successful team in this tournament, with two winning trophies till now. 

Last Updated On: April 2024