The 2026 T20 World Cup got underway last Saturday, once again taking place in India and Sri Lanka, but there may be some new countries you would not have expected to see. The ICC expanded the T20 World Cup to 20 teams from 16 in 2024, making it the first international cricket tournament held on US soil.
The expansion of the tournament gave fewer teams a chance to represent themselves and also introduced a new tournament structure. The new format places greater importance on the group stages, with only eight teams advancing from them, down from 10 previously. This current format is set to last until 2030, after which we may see it changed again.
The 2024 World Cup saw three countries make their tournament debuts: the USA, Canada, and Uganda, with the USA qualifying as hosts. Italy are now also making its debut in the 2026 edition, making it the fourth since 2024. In comparison, only six teams made their first appearance in the T20 World Cup between 2014 and 2024: Hong Kong, Nepal, UAE, Namibia and Papua New Guinea. As the years go on, other smaller cricketing nations are likely to join this list, highlighting the new format’s positive long-term effects.
Why is this important?
The growth of cricket has been rather stagnant over the past 20 years, with only exponential growth in already established cricketing nations. The IPL is now the second most valuable league in the world, only behind the NFL, with a 2025 valuation of $18.5 billion. India loves cricket, though. Despite the success of the IPL, it can only do so much to increase the sport’s profile worldwide.
This is where international tournaments come in, as we know nothing draws in viewers like an international sports tournament. A match between India and Pakistan at the 2019 World Cup drew an estimated 1 billion viewers and was recognised by Guinness World Records as the most-viewed cricket fixture of all time. The 2022 FIFA World Cup final had an estimated 1.5 billion viewers worldwide, underscoring the popularity of cricket in major nations.
Could this be a mistake?
It is a positive step forward for lesser nations to be included in international tournaments more frequently, no doubt, but does this not reduce the quality of cricket in those tournaments? In 2024, the USA were the only non-full member to reach the Super Eight, mainly due to an easier group and the thrill of playing on their home turf.
In short, smaller nations are not challenging the full member nations, reducing the quality of cricket on offer to viewers and potentially decreasing interest. This was always going to be the case, though, for the time being, anyway, as the sport grows into different countries, there will be big gaps in talent. Over time, this exposure will lead to more young people in those countries taking up cricket, hopefully helping to bridge the gap.
2028 Olympics
Cricket will feature as an Olympic event for the first time in 128 years at the 2028 Los Angeles Games, which may mark the real takeoff of cricket worldwide. The Olympic Games are notorious for giving lesser-known sports and athletes significant exposure, which cricket needs to break into some markets worldwide. Six teams will compete in a T20 format, and while much remains uncertain about the tournament’s format and how teams will qualify, it is likely to include the USA (hosts), India, Australia, Great Britain, South Africa, and one more team that will qualify through a play-off round.
Some may argue that lesser-known cricket nations should compete in the Olympics to boost their profile and increase interest, but seeing the highest level of cricket possible is important to the games’ impact on cricket worldwide. Many international superstars have confirmed they will play if called upon, including Steve Smith, who admitted he has been planning to stick around until 2028 for that reason.
Major League Cricket
MLC (Major League Cricket) was launched in 2023 to grow cricket in the USA, attract global talent, and build a domestic fanbase. Early signs indicate real success for cricket in the US: 84% of tickets for the inaugural season were sold out, with most buyers first-time attendees.
MLC has connections to the IPL, with many IPL franchise owners also owning MLC teams, such as the Los Angeles Knight Riders, owned by the team of the same name in Kolkata. Cricket in the USA is slowly growing but is yet to reach that point of exponential growth, yet the combination of MLC and the Olympics may just do that.
Impact on other formats
As the popularity of T20 cricket increases, the excitement around ODI and Test cricket is on the decline, but more so the latter. Test cricket is the purest form of the game, a true test of a cricketer’s talent, which is what made it so popular in the 20th century. As attention spans decrease in modern society, and fans’ desire for constant action increases, Test cricket has become boring for some.
One of cricket’s biggest challenges is managing the schedule, as the T20 leagues, which generate revenue, are increasingly demanding that international cricket accommodate them rather than the other way around. Unfortunately, Test cricket is not commercially attractive and may one day struggle to find its place within cricket.
The sad truth is that Test cricket is not likely to be played by new, emerging nations, as it does not make sense for investors. Luckily, the format is still loved by most full-member nations, as we most recently saw in the Ashes in December, when it was the most-watched Test series ever in Australia (7).
Besides the big three (India, England, and Australia), Test cricket has struggled in recent years in other full-member countries like the West Indies, yet has been rejuvenated in South Africa, highlighting the fluctuating interest among Test-playing nations.