ICC's WC, CT have rekindled ODI charm

These two mega events have made it clear that there is still space for all formats to coexist

KARACHI:

The just-concluded International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy 2025 was the second major One-Day International (ODI) tournament to be held in the past 18 months. While there is a lot of talk about the primacy of Test cricket on one hand and the global appeal of the shortest Twenty20 (T20) format on the other – especially among the youth and new followers of the game – the ODI cricket is routinely played down as something of a 'dying' format.

As someone who grew up in the 90s on a steady diet of ODI cricket, the last two tournaments i.e. the ICC World Cup 2023 and the Champions Trophy have served to rekindle that old charm.

Here is a format that combines the best of both the popular formats i.e. Test as well as the slam-bang albeit one-dimensional T20 cricket. For a batter, it gives the opportunity to switch between defense and attack, depending on the match situation. For a bowler, it is imperative to be adept at utilizing the new as well as exploiting the old ball. The spinners too get to cast that proverbial web around the batters when the situation or conditions allow.

What these two tournaments have made clear is that there is still space for all the formats to coexist. While ICC's efforts to globalize the game are understandable, it almost seems that in trying to do so, they are alienating the hardcore cricket followers.

In fact – among major sports – cricket seems to be the only sport desperate to reinvent itself. It is evident in the way the playing rules are tweaked with alarming regularity and the reckless awarding of Test-match playing rights to teams who are clearly unprepared for the biggest stage.

It is also imperative that the ICC now takes control of the Future Tours Program (FTP) and ensure a standardized schedule of matches where all 12 Test-playing nations play against each other twice in the 6-year cycle – on home and away basis. This can facilitate a return to the saner model of having bilateral series featuring Tests as well as ODIs with odd tournaments such as Asia Cup thrown in between.

With World T20 Championship now a permanent feature of the calendar, ICC can also consider doing away with bilateral T20s outside of this tournament.

With every country now having its own franchise-based T20 league, the teams can prepare and come up against each other in an expanded global tournament, or even a continental tournament every 4 years. This can be the vehicle for globalization that the ICC so desperately wants. This will also help the 50-over World Cup featuring the top 10 ODI sides maintain its status as the ultimate prize.

Doing away with excessive T20s will also have the added benefit of allowing the top-class players to maintain match fitness and increase the chances of them appearing in bilateral series especially Test cricket giving it a much-needed lift which the ICC is currently trying to manage through other initiatives such as the World Test Championship or the introduction of pink-ball day-night Test matches.

There will inevitably be the argument about financial viability of the longer formats and the need to have more T20s to attract lucrative sponsorships and media rights; however, it must be understood that attracting money into the game is also a function of quality rather than just quantity. The marquee encounters such as Ashes or India-Pakistan contests are profitable due to their iconic nature and historical significance.

However, it was not long ago that certain other matchups such as Australia-South Africa and England-West Indies would regularly attract worldwide attention. In current times, the Australia-India encounters have become the fiercest rivalry for the cricket fans internationally. The primary reason is the stature of players involved and the resulting quality of games.

In summary, the ICC has a responsibility to not only globalize the game but also keep the loyalists, the old followers of the game engaged. The only way to manage this is to resist the temptation to continuously tinker with the rules, disrupt the international calendar to accommodate standalone T20 matches and hasty globalization efforts.

The model of having limited number of teams competing at the highest level and a properly spaced-out calendar of bilateral encounters has sustained for decades; in fact, it is something that is unique to cricket and has helped maintain its prestige and glamour.

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