Kolkata: This year’s Champions Trophy was a lot more memorable one for all, one reason being the fact that the ‘underdog’ teams have done considerably well with Pakistan being the prime example of the fact. Coming in as the lowest ranked team, they beat heavyweight teams like South Africa, England and finally India, in the finals to win their maiden Champions Trophy title.
But the sad news is that, the eight team tournament could be done away with in future, to organize the T20 World Cup every two years, says ICC Chief Executive Dave Richardson.
Some officials are of the thought that the Champions Trophy, was becoming more like the World Cup. However, in a controversial move, the ICC has decided that it’s going to involve 10 teams from it’s next edition onward, which is supposed to be hosted by England.
Thus, the next edition of the Champions Trophy in 2021 which was supposed to be held in India is now very much uncertain according to Richardson. The former South African wicketkeeper also said that the future T20 World cups could have 20 teams.
Before an ICC annual conference in London, Richardson spoke to the reporters over the phone and said, “What we want to do is differentiate our global events from each other so that they can be standalone and create maximum interest every time the event happens..At this stage, the next Champions Trophy is still scheduled for India in 2021. Whether that gets changed, the consideration has been given to changing to two T20s in a four-year cycle which would mean swapping the Champions Trophy for a World T20” he added.
He further added, “The fact is that World T20s do attract a lot of interest, they generate significant revenue for the television companies, but most importantly from our point of view they provide us with an opportunity to give more opportunities to more teams.
A 16-team World T20 — even a 20-team World T20 — down the line is something that we would like to look at. With a 10-team World Cup we’re hoping to increase the competitiveness of matches and the standard of the tournament as a whole. It might not be necessary to continue with two 50-over tournaments going forward.”
The ICC is also set to meet at The Oval this week to decide to whether grant Test status to Afghanistan and Ireland or not. The decision regarding this is expected by Friday.
Richardson’s words however implied the possibility of them being granted Test status.
Said the ICC Chief Executive, “It’s never wise to try and make a call too early, but certainly the applications of both are very well founded..They both, on the face of it, meet the majority, if not all, of the full member criteria that has been set. I’m optimistic that they’ll be given serious consideration to have every chance of succeeding.”
(With inputs from Hindustan Times)