The Indian Premier League (IPL) has been ranked third among the world’s major men’s domestic T20 competitions in the latest World Cricketers’ Association assessment, with England’s The Hundred and South Africa’s SA20 placed ahead of it in the updated Leagues Hub released this week.
The WCA said the exercise provides an overall rating out of 100 for each league, based on weighted criteria tied to player conditions, protections, and professional standards. The rankings were compiled using measures identified by players, players’ associations and agents, along with survey feedback and player benefit data.
IPL placed third in latest WCA rankings
For the IPL, the WCA scorecard showed that the league received full marks for average player payment and payment reliability, underlining its financial strength in the global franchise market. However, its overall score was affected by lower ratings in several other categories linked to player rights and protections.
The WCA said its updated Leagues Hub was designed to create a clearer global benchmark for domestic competitions as franchise cricket continues to expand across the calendar. It said the project aimed to help players make more informed career decisions, promote transparency, and encourage stronger professional standards across the game.
1. The Hundred — 75.2
2. SA20 — 68.0
3. IPL — 62.6
4. BBL — 62.5
5. PSL — 48.0
6. MLC — 43.0
7. ILT20 — 39.1
8. CPL — 38.9
9. Abu Dhabi T10 — 30.1
10. BPL — 22.6
WCA chief executive Tom Moffat said the domestic league boom had helped cricket grow, but added that there was further room for improvement. “The growth of the domestic leagues landscape has been overwhelmingly positive for our sport, but it has the potential to be even better,” Moffat said.
He also said the aim was not to undermine leagues, but to push for stronger standards across the system. “We want all sanctioned leagues to be successful, and to provide fair protections and standards for people within them,” Moffat said.
Moffat said the updated framework had been created because there were still no enforceable global standards in a number of areas important to players and their representatives. “In the absence of enforceable regulated global standards in a number of important areas identified by the players and their representatives, the updated Leagues Hub provides evolved, consolidated benchmarking on current practice,” he said.
He added that the WCA had already contacted the leagues after publishing the latest rankings. “We have reached out to each league inviting them to work with us to meet best practice benchmarks, and to continue to advance the professionalisation and growth of our sport,” Moffat said.
