European T20 Premier League (ETPL)

The European T20 Premier League (ETPL) 2026, played from 26 August to 20 September 2026, wrapped up with Edinburgh Castle Rockers beating Belfast Wolves by 7 wickets in the final at Malahide Cricket Ground, Dublin, to become the competition's first-ever champions.

Six city-based franchises, Amsterdam Flames, Rotterdam Dockers, Dublin Guardians, Belfast Wolves, Edinburgh Castle Rockers, and Glasgow Cosmic, played a double round-robin league phase, with each side facing the other five twice across 10 games, for 30 league matches in total. The top team advanced straight to the final, while the second and third-placed sides met in the Qualifier, taking the tournament to 32 matches across its 26-day window. The opening ten days were played at Sportpark Westvliet in Voorburg, Netherlands, before the tournament shifted to Malahide Cricket Ground in Ireland for the rest of the league phase and both knockout games, a split that also meant several scheduled double-headers rather than one match a day. No women's edition of the ETPL ran alongside this season; the league has already confirmed one for 2027, which will also mark the first time ETPL fixtures are played in Scotland itself, rather than just fielding Scotland-based franchises.

Edinburgh Castle Rockers topped the six-team table to earn their direct final berth, despite dropping back-to-back games in the closing stretch of the league phase. Belfast Wolves booked their own spot in the final by beating Amsterdam Flames by 7 wickets in the Qualifier on 19 September, before Edinburgh completed the job a day later, chasing down 151 with three wickets in hand to seal a 7-wicket win and the tournament's inaugural title.

• Qualifier (19 September): Belfast Wolves beat Amsterdam Flames by 7 wickets
• Final (20 September): Edinburgh Castle Rockers beat Belfast Wolves by 7 wickets, at Malahide Cricket Ground

ETPL 2026: Funding and India Broadcast Deal

The league's business side carries a genuine Indian angle. ETPL raised $20 million (~₹193 crore) at the league level for its launch, with $5.5 million (~₹53 crore) already committed as anchor investment led by co-owner Abhishek Bachchan's group, alongside stakes held by cricketers-turned-owners like Rahul Dravid, Steve Waugh, and Glenn Maxwell. On broadcast, JioStar picked up the Indian subcontinent's television and streaming rights, airing the season on Star Sports and JioHotstar, while TNT Sports/HBO Max covered the UK and Ireland and Willow/Cricbuzz handled North America, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.

On the cricketing side, the league arrived with a genuine talking point for Indian viewers: co-owners had pointed to strong showings from associate nations at the 2026 T20 World Cup, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, as a reason to expect the ETPL's mix of European talent and global stars to find an audience back home. With Indian Premier League (IPL) regulars turning out as overseas pros and Indian ownership groups behind half the six franchises, the tournament's first season leaned on that crossover appeal rather than any built-in rivalry or history, both of which every future edition will now start building on.

The next ETPL season is pencilled in for 2027, with organizers yet to confirm exact dates or a fixture list. What's already locked in is an expansion of the competition's footprint: a Women's ETPL is set to launch that year, marking the first time the league plays matches in Scotland, whose two franchises, Edinburgh Castle Rockers and Glasgow Cosmic, have so far only represented the tournament rather than hosted it. Given the men's edition ran late August to late September this year, a similar late-summer window looks like the likely landing spot again, though nothing has been announced yet.