If we’re being honest, the Super Smash has never really reached the level of global buzz enjoyed by the IPL or even the BBL. Most casual fans abroad barely know it exists, and even in New Zealand it often feels like background noise. Now, though, the country looks genuinely close to launching its own private franchise tournament, a move many are already calling the New Zealand T20 League, something that could end up being the long-awaited replacement of Super Smash and perhaps even the New Zealand version IPL.
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What’s Gone Wrong With Super Smash?
Super Smash has been around for twenty years, but the whole thing quietly slid into what even insiders now call a “development competition.” Don MacKinnon, head of the NZ20 Establishment Committee, put it bluntly: the Super Smash is “not really working with the fans.”
New Zealand is finally set to enter the world of privately owned T20 leagues, with plans afoot to start NZ20, a tournament comprising six privately owned franchises, in January 2027 https://t.co/YYLW47su03 pic.twitter.com/r6MdOOe3hL
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) November 27, 2025
It was never built like other big-name leagues. No private owners, no major marketing push, no global draft, and definitely no superstar pull. In a world where T20 leagues appear almost weekly, all with big-money backers and aggressive branding, Super Smash feels like the polite, budget cousin turning up to a family party with a supermarket cake. And that, according to the group pushing for change, is exactly why the New Zealand T20 League needs to exist. The whole idea is being framed as a genuine replacement of Super Smash, something far punchier and more ambitious. Some even describe it as the long-overdue New Zealand version IPL, though the people driving the project insist it won’t be a carbon copy.
How Did NZ20 Come About?
The spark reportedly came from a group of former New Zealand greats, including Stephen Fleming, who questioned whether the country was missing out by not entering the world of private-franchise cricket. That led to discussions with the New Zealand Players Association (NZPA), and eventually to the formation of an official Establishment Committee led by MacKinnon, a sports lawyer, integrity commissioner, and former NZC board member. According to MacKinnon, the plan is straightforward:
“The concept is a pretty simple one really. It’s to see if New Zealand cricket could provide us with a clean window… ideally in the peak of summer in New Zealand.”
He described NZ20 as “extremely viable” and said the time was “ideal” to launch. The proposed model would mirror the CPL, NZC grants the licence, but franchises are privately owned and the league is independently run. If NZC approves it, NZ20 becomes an instant replacement of Super Smash, clearing the path for a shiny new New Zealand T20 League designed to attract top Kiwi stars and, ideally, some international names. And yes, that inevitably makes it feel like a mini New Zealand version IPL, though organisers prefer the phrase “boutique competition.”
A Tournament Built to Fix Old Problems
The NZ20 group argues that private investment brings key advantages:
2. Better fan experience
3. Higher-quality broadcasts
4. Real ability to lure top players back home
MacKinnon himself said private investment creates the freedom “to be very innovative” and “re-energise domestic cricket.” Many Kiwi players already spend January overseas because Super Smash simply can’t compete with BBL, SA20, or ILT20 contracts. The goal is to make this new New Zealand T20 League appealing enough to reverse that trend.
MacKinnon even said: “The feedback from current New Zealand players is they would desperately love for this tournament to go ahead and would do everything to participate in it.”
One particularly bold idea is giving players equity:
“We also are looking at a model where the players may well have an ownership share of the league.”
That’s something even the IPL didn’t do early on, and could be a unique selling point. Again, it reinforces the idea that this is not a copycat league but perhaps a modernised, player-driven New Zealand T20 League.
The NZ20 Blueprint：What We Know So Far
2. Teams: Six privately-owned franchises
3. Men’s competition first, women’s edition later in 2027
4. Window challenges: clashes with BBL, ILT20, SA20
5. Model inspiration: CPL first, but not exclusively
MacKinnon confirmed they are waiting on NZC approval:
“We have been in constant discussions with the New Zealand Cricket Board… while they’re excited by this project, they have other options they’re looking at, including whether they wish to consider trying to get a team into the Big Bash.”
But he also made it clear they’re moving ahead with preparations regardless, aiming for certainty by January 2026. If NZC signs off, the New Zealand T20 League will officially become the replacement of Super Smash, and the country will finally have something resembling a homegrown, summer-window New Zealand version IPL, albeit smaller, quirkier and very “Kiwi”.
So, Are Kiwis Ready for Their Own League?
It genuinely looks that way. The cricketing environment has shifted dramatically since NZC rejected the idea in 2014. Players want it, investors want it, and fans seem ready for something fresher and flashier than Super Smash. If nothing else, New Zealand finally seems ready to modernise its T20 ecosystem. After years of watching Kiwi stars light up leagues abroad, fans might soon get to see them do the same at home, and in a tournament that finally feels worthy of the stage.
