The move has, in the first place, prompted a serious rethink about the future of bilateral competitions going ahead with the financial insecurities of many cricket boards.
Barring India, and to a lesser extent Australia and England, almost every cricket board struggles financially. And the Covid-19 pandemic made the situation worse. And the response of most has been to catch the T20 cash cow. Viable or not, this is the way forward. In most cases sponsors are lined up to support these leagues. With international stars looking to become free agents (some already have), it is expected that these leagues will be a serious challenge to bilateral international competitions.
Take for example the ongoing India vs England ODI series. With the 50-over World Cup still more than a year away, it is a series completely devoid of context. So, while we celebrate Jasprit Bumrah and his excellence, the truth is that these three games are going to be number one for just two boards. Considering the World Cup is just a few months away in terms of T20Is.
While money is not an issue in the case of India and England, it is for boards like South Africa to choose between these irrelevant bilateral series and their own T20 leagues. And the answer is a no-brainer.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has tried to bring in the context of bilateral ODI series by introducing the World Cup Super League and qualifying points, but monetary considerations seem to have overtaken everything else in importance and importance.
With the BCCI demanding a 75-day window for the Indian Premier League (IPL) and most likely it will also be met, the future of the 50-over format remains unclear. While the World Cup and Champions Trophies may survive, bilateral series will soon take the field for domestic T20 leagues.
Consider this: If the BCCI is given the option of extending the IPL for another 15 days against a bilateral series of six ODIs in the same window, what would it choose to do? The answer is a possible knock out.
Although Cricket Australia may express concerns over South Africa’s exit, it is a viable option driven by tough financial considerations. Now the time has come that the cricket world should also accept this challenge and prepare itself for it.
With the United Arab Emirates (UAE) launching its league in January 2023, the already chaotic cricket calendar will become more congested in the coming months. And with most of these leagues offering players top dollar, most would prefer them over relatively insignificant national fixtures.
We have already seen West Indies stars doing this for a while and South Africa did the same in this year’s IPL. It was inevitable that the Board would wake up to this reality. Instead of losing players in domestic leagues, they will now try to prioritize their league over international competitions.
Its biggest loss is expected to be the 50-over bilateral format. While T20 has economic relevance and Test cricket is still a priority for purists, the 50-over format is neither here nor there. New-age fans prefer T20 domestic leagues over international 50-over engagements on any given day.
This is where it gets interesting for the ICC and the national cricket board. Will they continue the meaningless bilateral series in the long term or reconsider the fixtures given the rapidly evolving scenario?
Going forward, some would be tempted to use the success of the 2023 ODI World Cup in India to justify the popularity of the format. To do so would have to miss the trees for the forest. Firstly, the cricket market in this part of the world is alive forever. Second, it is a multi-nation tournament that has serious relevance for the cricket fan. But it will not prove that players will remain in the 50-over format. So it is quite safe to predict that the coming years will see a lot of turmoil in world cricket. Unless some serious rethinking is done, 50-over bilateral series may soon be a thing of the past.
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