Cricket Leagues Hall of Fame [WIP]

[VC the slogger]

'A' Championship by Varun​

While premier leagues were all the rage back in the day, one guy i.e Varun Rustagi decided to attempt a rather different league idea where emerging talents of the time who had yet to establish their current reputations as superstars such as Virat Kohli, Ben Stokes, Rohit Sharma, David Warner etc were given centre stage. This league featured 'A' teams from the established Test-playing nations pitted against each other in all three formats, across different tournaments and a Future Tours Programme - including a thrilling 'A' team World Cup for Season IV which was won by then perennial losing finalists (in real life) Sri Lanka. It was also perhaps the first league to introduce a proper injury and rankings system, along with rating moderations based on real life pitches to allow for more realistic play rather than depending on Cricksim's limited options. A bit of different thinking does a world of good sometimes.

Spoiler: Roll of Honour

Season I:
AC50 - South Africa A (@riz7khan12)
AC20 - West Indies A (@WestIndian)
World Series - England Lions (@Chewie)
AFC Knockout - Pakistan A (@Gorro_124)

Season II:
AC20 - West Indies A (@Meet)
'A' Asia Cup - Pakistan A (@deathrevenge9)
'A' Ashes - England Lions (@Haarithan)

Season III:
'A' North-South War - West Indies A (@BKB1991)
'A' T20 Knockout - Sri Lanka A (@tarun87)

Season IV:
'A' World Cup - Sri Lanka A (@tarun87)

Season V:
'A' ODI Championship - Pakistan A (@Samuels)

 

[VC the slogger]

Global Premier League by Dipak​

Another league that bucked the trends of the other premier leagues of the time by trying out both the one-day and first-class formats, alternative points systems and also saw some truly unlikely franchises take shape such as Antarctica Pengiuns, playing cricket in Antarctica! @Dipak ran it for nine seasons before calling it quits, and in the process also helped introduce guidelines which proved beneficial to league managers when it came to rating players accurately on Cricksim. Also, Sachin Tendulkar became perhaps the first man to cross the 200-run barrier in a 50-over game in the leagues section in one of it's seasons - quite eerily mirroring his real life performance a year earlier.

Spoiler: Roll of Honour

Season I - Melbourne Magyars (@Haarithan)
Season II - Kiev Kobras (@Varun)
Season III - New York Yankees (@harrisb)
Season IV - Auckland Avengers (@Iridium)
Season V - Tokyo Thunder (@Sartaj)
Season VI - Antarctica Pengiuns (@CG123)
Season VII - Melbourne Magyars (@Varun)
Season VIII - Tokyo Thunder (@riz7khan12)
Season IX - Antarctica Pengiuns (@CG123)

 

[VC the slogger]

Last Man Standing by Haarithan​

Another one of the golden leagues of that golden era, this league apart from it's cool name was among the first to religiously collate statistics over several seasons and inspired a new batch of managers including myself. It ran for ten quality seasons in the 50-over format with cricket being played in exotic places such as Italy, Portugal, France, Greece, Germany and Turkey during the first seven seasons. Due to his efforts in the league it comes as no surprise that Haarithan was made the CL's de facto statistician until we both (myself & @Na Maloom Afraad) came along.

Spoiler: Roll of Honour

Season I - Cape Town Crusaders (@sid2K11)
Season II - Mumbai Monsters (@Meet)
Season III - Johannesburg Classics (@mohit_dude10)
Season IV - Liverpool Lightning (@Varun)
Season V - Mumbai Monsters (@AkshayS)
Season VI - Manchester Moonbeams (@Dipak)
Season VII - Johannesburg Classics (@mohit_dude10)
Season VIII - Manchester Moonbeams (@Dipak)
Season IX - Perth Pirates (@Prats)
Season X - Delhi Chokers (@tarun87)

 

[Na Maloom Afraad]

IPL PC Style by Pinch hitter & PCA (Auctions)

At a time when a variation of the IPL would [1] pop [2] up [3] every [4] other [5] month [6], @Pinch hitter sought to make sure his stood above all the other ones. He established an Indian Premier League in his own style and, with the help of @PCA, reintroduced auctions to the leagues section a good five years before the Discord auctions came to be (and became the norm), as the two took the leagues section by storm. Originally run in the T20 format, the league pivoted to the List A format in season four and sent over one of the most impressive squads the Champions League has ever seen, which was quite unlucky to feature in the first unfinished Champions League season in nearly a decade. After a brief hiatus, the league ran again and this time produced a Champions League-winning squad with Republic of Dombivli taking home CL honours, becoming the first Indian team to win a Champions League in fourteen seasons, and only the second ever. Needless to say, the league was run smoothly and excellently, as most @Pinch hitter leagues are, and was among the most popular leagues of its time, giving managers complete autonomy over both identity and squad creation, which, along with the 'secret bidding' auctions developed by @PCA, make it more than deserving of a Hall of Fame induction.

Spoiler: Roll of Honour

T20
Season 01: Kolkata Knight Riders (@Aravind. & @Saroj padhy)
Season 02: Hyderabad Astros (@PCA, @Till Valhalla & @TSPrathik)
Season 03: Rajkot Renegades (@Neo 7 & @Perfect Square)

List A
Season 04: Kanpur Diamond Eagles: (@Yash. & @zwarrior)
Season 05: Republic of Dombivli: (@Paranoid Kendroid & @Sherlock Holmes)

 

[VC the slogger]

Ultimate Team - @Iridium​

An entirely original concept introduced to the leagues section by Iridium based on FIFA Ultimate Team from the video games, where a player could build the strongest squad possible via packs purchased with virtual money earned through matches and tournaments. Players were sorted into different categories determining overall quality ranging from bronze, silver, gold, emerald, legend; some were even given ratings boosts based on real life performances over the course of a week/month and managers could win further rewards from tournaments such as elite/legend players among other things. It ran for only 3 seasons, with a very high level of activity and the extra features added at the end of every season made it all the more interesting, leaving us all wanting a bit more when Iridium decided to pull the plug. Lastly, the player quality orbs that have since made life so much easier for us all are all thanks to this league.

Spoiler: Roll of Honour

Season I:
Kookaburra Classic Bracket Tournament I - Islamabad Iguanas (@Sulaiman7)

Season II:
Kookaburra Classic Bracket Tournament II - Sydney Dynamo (@Umair7)
Gray-Nicholls Championship I - Lahore Pelicans (@SixerBoy11)

Season III:
Kookaburra Classic Bracket Tournament III - Jamaican Jaguars (@Samuels)

 

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Sri Lankan Premier League - @Prats (Season I-III), @CremerCurrans (Season IV), @khaleel (Season V-VI)​

Of all the various teams to win the Champions League over the seasons, only one i.e the Basnahira Bears have managed to win the prestigious league back-to-back in CL VIII and CL IX. This was the league that gave birth to that legendary franchise - touted as the greatest in leagues section history, and to the legend of @Fenil (formerly Great India), the winningest manager in CL history who went on to emerge champion on no less than 4 occasions, whereas nobody else managed to ever win it more than once. That stunning little detail aside, this was a quality competition run first by @Prats, @CremerCurrans and then @khaleel over the course of it's 6 seasons and easily the most successful ever to represent the island nation of Sri Lanka, back when their cricket was in it's heyday.

Spoiler: Roll of Honour

Season I - Ruhuna Elevens (@Dipak)
Season II - Galle Tornados (@Iridium)
Season III - Kandy Kings (@BKB1991)
Season IV - Ruhuna Rhinos (@Zohaib)
Season V - Basnahira Bears (@Fenil)
Season VI - Basnahira Bears (@Fenil)

 

[VC the slogger]

Afrikan Premier League - @riz7khan12​

The pre-eminent league representing the continent of Africa in the leagues section, the Afrikan Premier League was introduced by @riz7khan12 during the golden era of premier leagues. It ran for a total of six seasons, even getting the rare honor of being able to send as many as two teams apiece during the Champions League's early seasons, a privilege given only to the APL and NZPL back then. It produced only one CL-winning franchise in the Durban Bulldogs managed by @-D-S-B-, who prior to Basnahira came closest to winning two CLs - winning CL IV, and losing by a narrow 12-run margin in the CL VI final to Liverpool Lightning. They qualified for yet another CL final in the one-off PC Champion of Champions, even defeating the legendary Basnahira Bears in the process. Although come the final, they were given a 150-run shellacking by West Coast Fever, the other legendary franchise managed by @Fenil, but nevertheless remain the only franchise to have qualified for the final in every CL they participated in - a feat managed by no other in CL history. And they did it all curiously without ever managing to even win the league they originated from, losing out twice to the Bloemfontein Bucks and Cape Town Cobras in the AfPL.

Spoiler: Roll of Honour

Season I - Cape Town Cobras (@CG123)
Season II - Bloemfontein Bucks (@Chewie)
Season III - Cape Town Cobras (@CG123)
Season IV - Cape Town Cobras (@CG123)
Season IV½ - Season abandoned
Season V - Polokwane Phantoms (@Iridium)
Season VI - Pretoria Lions (@El Loco & @BKB1991)