IPL ranks third behind The Hundred & SA20 in latest WCA rankings; Where does world's richest T20 franchise league lag?

The Indian Premier League (IPL) has been ranked third among the top 10 franchise leagues in the world, according to the latest rankings released by the World Cricketers' Association (WCA) on Thursday. The top two positions are taken by England's The Hundred and South Africa's SA20.

Having started back in 2008, the IPL has grown in stature, and is the richest franchise league in the world at the moment. In fact, the likes of Australia's Big Bash League, Bangladesh Premier League, Pakistan Super League and others came after IPL.

Based on the assessment by the global players body, the BBL and PSL are placed fourth and fifth respectively. United States' Major League Cricket (MLC) which came into existence in 2023, occupied the sixth spot while Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) is ranked 10th.

The unceremonious removal of Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman from the IPL earlier this year, amid political tension between the neighbouring countries also affected IPL's ranking in the latest WCA release. The BCCI's policy of not allowing contracted male players from appearing in other franchise leagues around the world has also come in for criticism.

WCA Chief Executive Tom Moffat said in a statement on Thursday that while cricket had benefited from the increasing numbers of domestic competitions in recent years, it was important to ensure players were taken care of.

"The growth of the domestic leagues landscape has been overwhelmingly positive for our sport, but it has the potential to be even better," he said. "We want all sanctioned leagues to be successful, and to provide fair protections and standards for people within them."

Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings are the two most successful sides in the IPL, having won five titles each. KKR come second in the list with three titles, the latest coming in the 2024 edition.