Indian Premier League (IPL) has dominated franchise cricket for nearly two decades. However, IPL 2026 is now facing growing scrutiny after a sharp decline in television ratings and audience engagement raised fresh concerns over the league’s future trajectory. According to figures released by BARC India and TAM Sports, the first half of IPL 2026 recorded an 18.8% drop in TV ratings. Average viewership also declined by 26%. Read More: IPL Built for Entertainment Not Development, Muttiah Muralithan The downturn has intensified debate around whether the league has entered a phase of audience fatigue after years of uninterrupted dominance. The decline becomes even more striking because IPL 2026 still features many of cricket’s biggest stars, including Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Pat Cummins and Jos Buttler. Despite explosive batting displays and frequent 200-plus totals, viewers appear increasingly disconnected from the tournament’s lengthy league phase. Analysts say the IPL’s once-unmissable appeal may now be weakening as repetitive schedules and familiar matchups reduce excitement levels among audiences. Viewer fatigue and gaming ban hit engagement One major factor behind the decline appears to be long-term viewer saturation. The IPL has remained cricket’s biggest commercial product since 2008. Nevertheless, experts believe audiences may now be showing signs of exhaustion after years of consuming a similar format every season. Many league-stage matches no longer generate the same urgency they once did, especially in a crowded entertainment market dominated by streaming platforms, football leagues, esports and short-form content. In addition, India’s crackdown on real money gaming platforms has significantly changed the IPL ecosystem. Read More: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Child Labour Row: FIR Threat Shakes IPL Fantasy gaming brands such as Dream11 and My11Circle previously played a central role in keeping viewers emotionally invested throughout matches. Many fans followed fantasy team performances alongside live games. However, that layer of interaction has largely disappeared following restrictions on betting-related platforms. As a result, advertising engagement has weakened, while viewers are increasingly switching platforms during breaks and innings intervals.
From Virat Kohli to Jos Buttler: A Record That Could Fall at the Coming T20 World Cup
As anticipation builds for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, cricket fans are looking back at the record-holders who have dominated the tournament with the bat over the years. The list of all-time highest run-scorers in the T20 World Cup includes some of the greatest names in modern cricket history. According to official career data from ESPNcricinfo and other trusted cricket statistics sources, Virat Kohli is the leading run-scorer in T20 World Cup history, having accumulated 1,292 runs across editions from 2012 through 2024. Following him is India’s prolific opener Rohit Sharma, who scored 1,220 runs in his T20 World Cup career. Mahela Jayawardene ranks third with 1,016 runs, reflecting his consistency for Sri Lanka across several tournaments. Close behind is David Warner with 984 runs. Jos Buttler is fifth on the all-time list with 1,013 runs. What sets Buttler apart among the top five is his status as an active international player. Unlike the others on the list — many of whom have retired from international T20 cricket — Buttler continues to represent England cricket team and is expected to do so in future ICC events. This means he has the unique opportunity to add to his total in the 2026 T20 World Cup and could potentially rise further up the all-time rankings. The rest of the top five — Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jayawardene and Warner — have largely finished their T20 World Cup careers, making Buttler the only current contender to challenge the existing records. As the 2026 tournament unfolds, all eyes will be on him as one of the few still-active batsmen capable of rewriting the T20 World Cup run-scoring charts. Notably, no Pakistani batter features among the top 10 run-scorers in T20 World Cup history. However, former Pakistan all-rounder Shoaib Malik is placed 13th on the all-time list, having scored 646 runs in 31 innings across 34 matches. Further down the list, current Pakistan captain Babar Azam is ranked 24th, with 549 runs from 17 matches and 17 innings. Given his consistency and role at the top of the order, it appears likely that Babar Azam could overtake Shoaib Malik in the run-scoring charts if he is selected for the upcoming T20 World Cup and continues his current form.
