• Andrew Strauss predicts that the IPL will surpass the NFL.
• Strauss spoke at the annual Cowdrey lecture at Lord’s on Wednesday.
• The IPL has inspired the development of rival leagues.

Andrew Strauss, a former captain of England, predicted on Wednesday that the Indian Premier League would surpass the NFL in American football to become “the biggest domestic sporting event in the world” and commended it for helping cricket take one of its “great steps ahead.”

He added that the recent launch of a women’s IPL would “dramatically expedite” the development of the female game.

The IPL, a hugely lucrative franchise T20 event supported by powerful business people and entertainment celebrities, also inspired the development of rival leagues like Australia’s Big Bash and the Caribbean Premier League.

Players on the international T20 circuit benefit from this by making a solid life playing cricket without having to represent their nations.

This has raised concerns about the future of international cricket, particularly five-day Tests, although Strauss claims that issues of “overkill” existed before to the introduction of the IPL in 2008 and are still present at the international and county levels.

Strauss pushed his audience to embrace the IPL despite fears that it meant the game had “sold its essence” when addressing the annual Cowdrey lecture at Lord’s.

“As the Indian economy grows, it is predicted that by the time it reaches parity with the size of the United States in 2040, the value of the IPL will be six times what it is today — this would be the world’s largest domestic sporting championship, bar none,” Strauss added.

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