Malaysia launches T20 league of its own with five teams

Malaysia has announced a new T20 league to enhance the popularity of cricket in South Asian countries, with the first edition set to be played in June-July next year.

By CX Staff Writer Dec 10, 2022, 18:38 IST

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Malaysia is ranked 28th in the ICC T20I Rankings

Malaysia has introduced a T20 league of its own, set to host its first edition in June-July next year. The tournament will be hosted by the IPG group, following its successful role in carrying out the first three editions of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) in Sri Lanka.

The competition, aimed to enhance the popularity of cricket in South Asian countries, will feature five teams, with four Malaysian players playing in the starting XI.

The Malaysian Cricket Association is an associate member of International Cricket Council (ICC), with the national team being ranked 28th in the T20I Rankings. The series would present a great opportunity for the cricketers in the country to rub shoulders with top international stalwarts.

"We are really excited to start a T20 league in Malaysia. In the recently concluded T20 World Cup, we saw the potential of associate nations as they caused many upsets against top teams and our aim is to take the Malaysian cricket team to those heights. We believe that a T20 league like this can unearth some of the best cricketing talents in the country and help strengthen the Malaysian cricket team,” said Anil Mohan, Founder and CEO of IPG, the official promoter of LPL.

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"A lot of top cricketers in the world will come to Malaysia to play in the upcoming Malaysian T20 league and it will a great opportunity for the local players to learn from them. We want to bring Malaysian players together with some of the highly skilful players in world cricket. They can learn about different aspects of the game from them which will eventually take cricket in this country to new heights."

MCA President Mohammed Iqbal Ali bin Kassim Ali said: "The Malaysian Cricket Association appreciates the IPG Group's vision and willingness to host their T20 league in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. IPG Group has successfully delivered many leagues in different countries including the Lanka Premier League and we are confident the Malaysian T20 league will be a huge success as well.

“At MCA we constantly work hard to raise the standard of our cricket, I am sure that Malaysian T20 league will help our players to increase their skills level in order to compete with the higher tier teams in the world of cricket. The tournament will be a great boost to cricket in Malaysia and we hope it will be a significant step on the journey as we reach new heights in the future.”