Asian Cricket in Transition: Power, Market and Politics Are Redrawing the Game

Asian cricket is passing through an awkward phase. On one side, tournaments such as the IPL, PSL, Lanka Premier League, Bangladesh Premier League and ILT20 have shifted the financial centre of the game away from national teams towards franchises. On the other, the international calendar has become so dense that there is barely any room left for rest and rehabilitation. Caught between these two forces is continental administration, which now has to decide not merely where matches are played, but how revenue is divided, who gets hosting rights, and how competitions survive political tension.

This report is not anchored to a single match, dispute or announcement. It examines the structural pressures that will shape Asian cricket over the coming years. Without understanding them, the performance of the continent's teams, the future of its leagues and the credibility of its administration cannot be assessed separately.

Hosting: the Asia Cup is more than a tournament

The Asia Cup is the Asian Cricket Council's most visible product, but in recent years it has become a stage for diplomacy as much as for cricket. The 2026 edition was played under a hybrid model, with some matches in Pakistan and the rest in Sri Lanka. That arrangement was itself a signal: continental administration is now designing structures in which political disagreement can be managed without cancelling the tournament.

The cost of the hybrid model is symbolic rather than technical. When half a competition moves to a neutral venue, the very idea of hosting weakens. For the viewer it becomes a scattered event; for sponsors a less stable product; for the host board a source of revenue uncertainty.

The effect is not confined to the Asia Cup. Whenever future hosting decisions arise, boards will face the same question: choose the model that is better for the game, or the one that carries the least political risk? In Asian cricket, the second option has so far prevailed.

Council structure: equal members, unequal weight

The ACC is a member-based body, but power within it has never been symmetrical. The Indian board is the economic pivot of the global game, and its weight in continental decisions is correspondingly large. Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have organisational heritage and talent pipelines, but a different position in financial bargaining. For members such as Nepal, Oman, the UAE, Hong Kong and Malaysia, the issue is more basic: bilateral opportunities, match fees and a share of broadcast revenue.

One consequence of this imbalance is that the continental calendar is often built around the domestic priorities of the larger boards. When the top teams are busy, finding a window for smaller members becomes difficult. Conversely, when a large board has a gap, smaller members are expected to accept a tour or event at short notice.

Over time this produces a two-tier cricket system: one that is permanently visible, and another that competes for opportunities. A sustainable continental structure requires a transparent revenue-sharing formula that does not rely on match fees alone but distributes centrally pooled broadcast and sponsorship income to smaller members as well.

League expansion: the market is winning, the calendar is losing

Over the past decade, both the number and the duration of T20 leagues in Asia have grown. The IPL remains the largest product globally, the PSL has consolidated its position, the Bangladesh and Sri Lanka leagues are searching for financial stability, and competitions such as ILT20 have created a new hub in the Gulf.

These leagues have genuinely contributed to the growth of the game. Emerging players have a platform, coaching and sports science have improved, and players from smaller cricketing nations now have a route to professional experience before an international career. Hosting fees and league revenue are also significant income for boards.

But the cost of league expansion falls on the international calendar. As league windows grow, bilateral windows shrink. When several leagues demand the same season, players are forced to choose — and the choice usually favours financial security, which is understandable. The result is that some bilateral series are played at times when they attract little attention, and the space reserved for Test cricket keeps shrinking.

Player workload: injury is now the rule, not the exception

For leading players from Asian teams, the biggest challenge in recent years has not been competition but the calendar. Three formats, bilateral series, continental tournaments, global ICC events and franchise leagues cannot all be managed simultaneously without physical cost. Fast bowlers carry the heaviest load: workload management is discussed constantly, yet genuinely empty windows remain scarce.

Names such as Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Shakib Al Hasan, Rashid Khan, Wanindu Hasaranga and Sandeep Lamichhane illustrate different forms of this pressure — some take managed rest, some cycle repeatedly through injury and return, some struggle with form after long unbroken stretches of cricket.

The solution is not simply more rest. It requires central calendar planning in which national boards and league operators sit together to fix windows, rather than each side treating its own priority as final. Without that, the continent's most attractive players will lose their most productive years to injury and fatigue.

Emerging markets: Nepal, Oman and the Gulf

One of the most interesting stories in Asian cricket is that the geography of the game is changing. Nepal's crowd numbers and social media enthusiasm rival established cricket nations. Oman and the UAE have developed not only hosting expertise but a professional ecosystem for players and coaches. Members such as Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore are trying to build stability within limited resources.

The biggest challenge for these markets is not cash but continuity. One or two major events raise popularity, but domestic infrastructure — pitches, coaches, junior programmes, ground maintenance — does not grow at the same pace. Talent appears but does not stay; good players move to other countries or leagues.

Continental investment therefore needs to change direction. Staging competitions is not enough; long-term investment in coaching education, sports science and ground management in smaller member nations is essential. Such spending will not return revenue immediately, but without it the expansion of Asian cricket will remain on paper.

Media rights: where the money goes is the real question

Broadcast and digital rights are the largest source of cricket revenue, and they matter even more in Asian markets given the scale of audiences and the rapid shift to mobile viewing. Yet the rights process has repeatedly raised questions about transparency: who bid, on what basis the winner was chosen, and how much of the income reaches player welfare or junior cricket.

This is a question of trust, not just of audit. When audiences cannot see where ticket and subscription money goes, their attachment to the game weakens. It is more serious for smaller members, who lack bargaining power over their share of the central pool.

Women's cricket: growth without infrastructure

Asian women's cricket has progressed significantly in recent years. India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are now consistently competitive, and viewership has risen. But that growth remains concentrated in a few centres.

The real challenge lies in domestic structures: match fees, contract security, support during pregnancy and motherhood, and the availability of coaches at junior level. Until these are secured, talent will continue to be lost early. Dedicated windows for women's competitions in the continental calendar are no longer optional.

Climate, grounds and logistics: the ignored crisis

Rising heat and humidity in South Asia directly affect the playing calendar. Player safety in afternoon matches, spectator access to grounds, and a growing proportion of rain-affected games all need to move to the centre of planning. In several Asian cities, water availability for ground irrigation and maintenance is an increasing problem.

Administrative responses have so far been reactive — shifting start times after consulting forecasts, or shortening matches after rain. What is needed is a planned approach: weather-appropriate scheduling, water recycling and clear player-safety standards.

The way forward: three reforms that matter

First, centralised calendar planning. National boards, the continental council and league operators must agree a shared window plan in which player rest is a mandatory element, not an optional convenience.

Second, a transparent revenue-sharing formula. A defined share of broadcast and sponsorship income should be spent on junior cricket, women's cricket and the infrastructure of smaller members, with public accounting.

Third, a practical framework for keeping politics out of the game. Complete separation is impossible, but procedures can be built so that competitions take place at their announced time and place despite political disagreement, and decisions rest on pre-declared rules rather than last-minute deals.

Asian cricket has talent, audiences and markets. What it lacks is clarity of governance and long-term thinking. If those are addressed in the coming years, the continent's cricket will become not just bigger but better. If not, a fast-growing market will leave slow-moving structures further behind — and that gap will not be easy to close.