Is T20 Franchise Cricket Leagues Killing ODI Format?. Cricket has evolved drastically over the years. Not long ago, the spectators made queues outside the stadiums to get a ticket to watch an ODI match, as it was the combination of both Test and T20 clubbed together. But, the excitement of watching an ODI match seems to be getting diminished with the aggressive involvement of T20 franchise cricket across the globe.
If we talk about the ODI format, the hype and importance have been confined only to the ICC events, and the bilateral matches just seem to become a formality.
In recent times, many cricket experts have emphasized that the T20 franchise leagues are making cricket just a single-dimension sport, and the interest in the ODI format is slowly dying.
Over the years, even a lot of players have hung their boots from the ODI format to focus more on T20 and test cricket. Here, a question arises will overexposure to T20 franchise cricket kill the ODI format!!
THE TSUNAMI OF T20 CRICKET LEAGUES ACROSS THE GLOBE
IPL started the concept of the t20 league in 2008. Hardly anyone would have thought that it would bring a revolution to the way cricket is watched. But, the advent of IPL has completely shaken the cricket dynamics. Almost all the recognized test-playing nations have started their own t20 franchise.
Even some of them have multiple t20 leagues, such as England and Australia. Overall, the cricket boards have started prioritizing the T20 format, and as a result, the ODI format is lagging behind in terms of popularity.
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THE ICC TEST CHAMPIONSHIP
ICC was too much concerned regarding the future of test cricket, as the growing popularity of T20 was negatively impacting cricket’s longest format. They did a masterstroke by introducing ICC Test Championship.
Although it involves only a handful of test-playing nations, it has re-ignited the fan’s attention towards the 5-day format. It has kept the test format alive, and the audience’s attention is still attached to test cricket to some extent.
THE ENORMOUS MONEY INVOLVED WITH T20 FRANCHISE CRICKET
There is no denying that T20 franchise cricket across the globe has a lot of financial benefits attached to it. For example, a top-class player in the IPL gets an average salary of close to 12 crores for playing just 14-16 matches annually.
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In contrast, he would be getting just 30-40% of that amount playing in the ODI format for the national team throughout the year. So, they get tempted to play these t20 franchise cricket leagues and take breaks during the bilateral ODI matches.
It is high time that the ICC should come up with some unique ways to receive the ODI format. As they did for test cricket, something similar needs to be implemented at the earliest so that the cricket fans can continue watching ODI cricket, which is a perfect blend of T20 and Test Cricket.
