New Delhi, July 2 (IANS) Australia all-rounder Glenn Maxwell believes the gap between cricket’s powerhouses and emerging nations is narrowing rapidly, saying the United States came close to upsetting India at the T20 World Cup and that the European T20 Premier League (ETPL) can further accelerate the rise of developing teams.

Speaking after the ETPL 2026 Player Draft on Thursday, the Belfast Wolves’ co-owner and captain said franchise leagues provide the exposure needed for Associate nations to consistently challenge the world’s best.

Asked whether ETPL could help make results like Ireland’s recent T20I series win over India more frequent by giving European players a stronger competitive platform.

The Australian cited the USA’s performance against India at the T20 World Cup as evidence that emerging teams are already capable of challenging the sport’s heavyweights, saying that the Americans came within touching distance of producing one of the biggest upsets in recent ICC tournament history.

“Yeah, I think you’ve only got to look at a team like the US. The way that they’ve grown as a team and how they played at the last T20 World Cup. I think it was in, sorry, the last T20 World Cup in India. And how they pushed teams. And if they had probably caught SKY (Suryakumar Yadav), they might have even upset India there as well,” Maxwell said while replying to an IANS query during a media interaction following the conclusion of the 2026 Player Draft.

Using that example, the Australian said emerging cricket nations are improving at a rapid pace and backed the ETPL to play a significant role in Europe’s cricketing development.

“And hopefully the same thing will happen with the ETPL. It can happen quite fast, the growth in these nations. With the, I suppose, inspiring the next generation of cricket,” the all-rounder stated.

While he acknowledged that building a sustainable cricket culture takes time, Maxwell said recent ICC tournaments have already shown that Associate nations are becoming increasingly competitive against Full Members.

“It might take a little bit longer. But as we’ve seen over the last period, the last little period of time with the T20 World Cup. And involving so many different nations. It can happen quite fast,” he said.

He added that regular opportunities to compete against experienced international sides will only help emerging teams continue their upward trajectory.

“And teams get their opportunity to play against these bigger nations. Who have got a lot more experience. A lot more, I suppose, World Cup experience. And to be able to push them right to the edge. And challenge them at different times,” the Aussie said.

Maxwell concluded by saying that the success of the ETPL could ensure European teams continue to narrow the gap on the world’s leading cricket nations, as he said, “And I think that’s what we’re going to see in the future, pending the success of the ETPL.”

–IANS

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