Is One Day International (ODI) cricket in danger? Legendary all-rounder and World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev has questioned the relevance of the 50-over format amid the rise of lucrative T20I leagues in competitive cricket. Kapil, who masterminded India’s maiden World Cup triumph in 1983, feels the International Cricket Council (ICC) must take essential steps to protect two of the purest formats of the game in the modern era.
The cricketing calendar has been already cramped with the emergence of various T20 leagues and cash-rich tournaments. With new competitions set to begin early next year in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and South Africa, former Indian skipper Kapil fears that the ODI format is ‘fading away’ in the modern era. The cramped schedule has already paved the way for star players like Ben Stokes to opt for premature retirements from the ODI format.
Speaking to Sydney Morning Herald on Monday, the legendary all-rounder opined that world cricket is going the football way with multiple T20 leagues. “I think it’s fading out. The ICC [International Cricket Council] has a bigger responsibility how to manage this game. It’s going the way as football in Europe. They don’t play against each country. It is once in four years [during the World Cup]. Is this what we’re going to have, the World Cup and the rest of the time playing club [T20 franchise] cricket?,” Kapil said.
Dubbed as the biggest T20 league in cricket, the Indian Premier League (IPL) will receive an extended window in the ICC’s next international calendar. T20 leagues hosted by England and Australia will also receive dedicated slots. Kapil opined that the ICC has to put more time to ensure the survival of the 50-over format. “In a similar way, will cricketers eventually be playing mainly the IPL or the Big Bash or something like that? So the ICC have to put more time into that to see how they can ensure the survival of one-day cricket, Test match cricket, not only club cricket. Club cricket is ok for a while. The Big Bash is ok. But the South African league is coming, the UAE league is coming. If all the countries are going to play the club cricket, then international cricket will be only for the World Cup,” Kapil added.
