2026 European T20 Premier League
| Dates | 26 August – 20 September |
|---|---|
| Cricket format | Twenty20 |
| Tournament format(s) | Round-robin and playoffs |
| Hosts |
|
| Participants | 6 |
| Matches | 34 |
The 2026 European T20 Premier League (also known as the 2026 ETPL) is the inaugural season of the European T20 Premier League, a professional men's Twenty20 cricket league founded by a group of Indian investors around Abhishek Bachchan, in partnership with the cricket boards of Scotland, Ireland, and the Netherlands.[1][2][3] The inaugural season will take place from 26 August to 20 September 2026.[4][5]
Background
The tournament was launched as a joint franchise league for Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands, with six city-based teams participating.[6][7] The inaugural season was originally planned for 2025, but postponed to 2026 following investment delays and shifting commercial priorities, including investor focus on other franchise competitions such as The Hundred.[8][9]
The inaugural season begins on 26 August and concludes with the Final on Sunday, 20 September 2026. The competition features 30 league-stage matches, followed by a Qualifier and Final.[10]
Tournament format
The ETPL is played in a double round-robin format, with each of the six franchises playing every other team twice, resulting in 30 league-stage matches. At the end of the league stage, the team finishing first in the points table qualifies directly for the Final. The teams finishing second and third contest the Qualifier, with the winner advancing to the Final to face the table-toppers.
Schedule
The tournament begins on 26 August with Rotterdam Dockers facing Amsterdam Flames in Voorburg. Matches in Voorburg continue until 6 September before the tournament moves to Malahide on 9 September. The league stage concludes on 17 September, followed by the Qualifier on 19 September and the Final on 20 September.
Squad composition
Each team is allowed to build a squad of 17 players. Each ETPL squad consists of players from five categories: pre-signed overseas players, affiliated local players, European Associate players, Global Associate players, and local players selected through the ETPL Draft.
- Local Direct Signings: 2
- Local Draft Picks: 6
- Local Core Total: Minimum 8 local players from the Netherlands, Scotland, and Ireland combined
- European Associate Players: Minimum 1 player (excluding the Netherlands and Scotland)
- Global Associate Players: Minimum 1 and maximum 2 players
- Full Member Overseas Players: Maximum 7 players (excluding Ireland).
Playing XI Rules
- Local Players: Minimum 5 local players from the Netherlands, Scotland, or Ireland.
- Overseas: Maximum 4 overseas players from Test-playing nations (excluding Ireland).
- Associate: 2 associate players (any combination of Global Associate Players or European Associate Players)
Teams
| Team | City | Captain | Head coach | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amsterdam Flames |  Amsterdam |
Scott Edwards | Ryan Cook | |
| Dublin Guardians |  Dublin |
Ravichandran Ashwin | Vikram Rathour | |
| Edinburgh Castle Rockers |  Edinburgh |
Mitchell Santner | James Foster | |
| Glasgow Cosmic | Glasgow |
George Munsey | Matthew Hayden | |
| Belfast Wolves | .svg.png){kind=small} Belfast |
Glenn Maxwell | Kevin O'Brien | |
| Rotterdam Dockers | Rotterdam |
Faf du Plessis | Adrian Birrell | |
Venues
All matches of the inaugural season will be played at Sportpark Westvliet in Voorburg, Netherlands, and Malahide Cricket Ground in Malahide, Ireland.[11]
|
| |
| Voorburg | Malahide |
|---|---|
| Sportpark Westvliet | Malahide Cricket Ground |
| Capacity: 1,000 | Capacity: 11,500 |
| First 15 matches | Second 15 matches and Play-offs |
Squads
| Amsterdam Flames | Dublin Guardians | Edinburgh Castle Rockers | Glasgow Cosmic | Belfast Wolves | Rotterdam Dockers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
- Mitchell Marsh was pulled out to prioritise Australia's upcoming white-ball series against Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Standings
Points table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | NR | Pts | NRR | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Edinburgh Castle Rockers | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4.337 | Advanced to the Final |
| 2 | Rotterdam Dockers | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.847 | Advanced to the Qualifier |
| 3 | Belfast Wolves | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2.600 | |
| 4 | Amsterdam Flames | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | −0.847 | |
| 5 | Dublin Guardians | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | −2.600 | |
| 6 | Glasgow Cosmic | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | −4.337 |
Match summary
| Team | Group matches | Playoffs | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Q | F | |
| Amsterdam Flames | 0 | 1 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ||
| Belfast Wolves | 2 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ||
| Dublin Guardians | 0 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ||
| Edinburgh Castle Rockers | 2 | 3 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ||
| Glasgow Cosmic | 0 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ||
| Rotterdam Dockers | 2 | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | ||
| Win | Loss | No result |
- Note: The total points at the end of each group match are listed.
- Note: Click on the points (group matches) or W/L (playoffs) to see the match summary.
| Home team won |
- Note: Results listed are according to the home (horizontal) and visitor (vertical) teams.
- Note: Click on a result to see a summary of the match.
League stage
The fixtures for the inaugural season were announced on 28 July 2026 and are split in two legs: the first 15 matches will be played at Sportpark Westvliet in Voorburg, Netherlands, and the second 15 matches at the Malahide Cricket Ground in Malahide, Ireland.[12][13]
Round 1 (Voorburg)
Amsterdam Flames 157/8 (20 overs) |
v |
Rotterdam Dockers (H) 158/5 (18.1 overs) |
- Rotterdam Dockers won the toss and elected to field.
Belfast Wolves (H) 184/7 (20 overs) |
v |
Dublin Guardians 132/9 (20 overs) |
- Dublin Guardians won the toss and elected to field.
Glasgow Cosmic 115 (20 overs) |
v |
Edinburgh Castle Rockers (H) 116/3 (11.3 overs) |
- Edinburgh Castle Rockers won the toss and elected to field.
- Trent Boult (Edinburgh Castle Rockers) took his maiden five-wicket haul in T20s.[14]
Amsterdam Flames (H) |
v |
|
- Edinburgh Castle Rockers won the toss and elected to field.
- No play was possible due to rain.
Round 2 (Malahide)
Playoffs
Bracket
| Qualifier | Final | ||||||||
| 1 | 1st placed team | ||||||||
| 2 | 2nd placed team | QW | Winner of Qualifier | ||||||
| 3 | 3rd placed team | ||||||||
Qualifier
Final
Statistics
Most runs
| Runs | Player | Team | Inns. | SR | HS | Avg. | 50/100 | 4's | 6's |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 83 | Faf du Plessis | Rotterdam Dockers | 1 | 150.90 | 83* | - | 1/0 | 7 | 2 |
| 75 | Bas de Leede | Amsterdam Flames | 1 | 141.50 | 75 | 75.00 | 1/0 | 7 | 2 |
| 30 | Ben Manenti | Rotterdam Dockers | 1 | 166.66 | 30 | 30.00 | 0/0 | 3 | 1 |
| 27 | David Wiese | Rotterdam Dockers | 1 | 158.82 | 27* | - | 0/0 | 3 | 0 |
| 25 | Max O'Dowd | Amsterdam Flames | 1 | 166.66 | 25 | 25.00 | 0/0 | 4 | 0 |
| Source: Cricinfo Updated: 27 August 2026 | |||||||||
Most wickets
| Wickets | Player | Team | Inns. | Econ. | BBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Kyle Klein | Amsterdam Flames | 1 | 8.50 | 3/34 |
| 2 | Roelof van der Merwe | Rotterdam Dockers | 1 | 5.25 | 2/21 |
| Anrich Nortje | Rotterdam Dockers | 1 | 6.50 | 2/26 | |
| David Wiese | Rotterdam Dockers | 1 | 7.00 | 2/28 | |
| 1 | Richard Gleeson | Amsterdam Flames | 1 | 8.84 | 1/28 |
| Logan van Beek | Rotterdam Dockers | 1 | 9.00 | 1/18 | |
| Source: Cricinfo Updated: 27 August 2026 | |||||
Broadcasting
The league will be broadcast live on the following channels.[15][16][17]
| Region(s)/countries | Television rights | Streaming rights |
|---|---|---|
| Indian subcontinent | Star Sports | JioHotstar |
| United Kingdom | TNT Sports | HBO Max |
| Ireland | ||
| United States | Willow | Cricbuzz |
| Canada | ||
| Middle East and North Africa | N/a | |
| Southeast Asia | N/a |
See also
References
- ↑ Gollapudi, Nagraj (21 January 2026). "Smith, Marsh to play in new Europe-based T20 league; Waugh, Maxwell among owners". Cricinfo. Retrieved 17 February 2026.
- ↑ "Inside the ETPL's bold push to make Europe cricket's next frontier". Cricexec. 2 October 2025. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
- ↑ "New tournament for 2025". Cricket Ireland. 4 January 2025. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
- ↑ "European T20 franchise league to begin on August 26". Press Trust of India. 28 July 2026. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
- ↑ "European T20 Premier League: All you need to know". Cricinfo. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
- ↑ "What is the European T20 Premier League? Start date, teams, format, owners and key players". Cricket News. 7 June 2025. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
- ↑ "Europe's Cricket Game-Changer: The European T20 Premier League Is Here!". Wicketbuzz. 25 March 2025. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
- ↑ "Euro T20 league backed by Bollywood to be postponed". BBC Sport. 5 June 2025. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
- ↑ "Inaugural European T20 Premier League postponed to 2026". Cricbuzz. 6 June 2025. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
- ↑ "ETPL 2026: Everything You Need to Know". ETPL Official. Retrieved 26 August 2026.
- ↑ "ETPL 2026: Full Schedule Announced, Season Set to Open August 26". European T20 Premier League. 28 July 2026. Retrieved 28 July 2026.
- ↑ "ETPL 2026: Full Schedule Announced, Season Set to Open August 26". European T20 Premier League. 28 July 2026. Retrieved 28 July 2026.
- ↑ "Inaugural edition of ETPL to start on August 26". Cricbuzz. 28 July 2026. Retrieved 28 July 2026.
- ↑ "Edinburgh Castle Rockers storm to seven-wicket win in Scottish Derby". CricTracker. 28 August 2026. Retrieved 29 August 2026.
- ↑ "ETPL ANNOUNCES JIOSTAR, TNT SPORTS, WILLOW & CRICBUZZ AS BROADCAST PARTNERS". European T20 Premier League. 10 July 2026. Retrieved 12 July 2026.
- ↑ "ETPL 2026 Broadcasting & Live Streaming: TV Channels & Platforms". ETPL Live. Retrieved 25 July 2026.
- ↑ "ETPL 2026 live streaming and TV channels: Where to watch live and match timings for European T20 Premier League". Cricinfo. Retrieved 26 August 2026.