He believes that the exponential rise of short formats will take away cricket’s significance.
When T20 Internationals were first introduced, the format didn’t strike a lot of confidence among cricketing fans. Who would even want to watch a 20-over match? Fans pay for the entire day of cricket in ODI and for the legacy and classic action of red-ball cricket in Test format. Why would they want to have something that’s shorter and essentially similar to ODI in terms of entertainment? Yet decades later, the T20I format has become one of the most popular and sought-after formats in Indian cricket.
After T20I was first introduced to the world, India was among the first countries to adopt it. The Indian Premier League played a major role in popularizing the format in mainstream media and the fanbase. With international and national players joining in and playing for the franchise, the IPL mimicked the same fever that La Liga and other football leagues have over their audience. This structure was adopted all over the world and soon found multiple variations.
But have shorter formats reached their saturation point already?
Now that cricket is gaining popularity and reaching more countries, every country wants to start their own league. It’s the best way of gaining audience and earning a cult following. It also promotes the said country’s cricket culture. But no country has the type of resources or time to run a full-blown ODI league. If any country even tries to do the same, it would be like mimicking the World Cup. Even India has not tried to play such a gamble. Naturally, the newer countries would want to keep their league matches short and action-packed.
But Indian expert Kris Srikkanth has had enough of this already. The way new formats are being introduced is making me crazy. After the T20 format, England introduced The Hundred, where both teams play 100 balls. Then Abu Dhabi brought T10, where both teams play 10 overs. Then Canada introduced a tournament named Super 60, with 60 balls per side. The boundaries are so small that even a short ball can disappear for a six.
And as if that wasn't enough, we got Hong Kong Sixes, with just six overs per match. At this rate, they'll soon have a Super Over tournament, and then we'll reach a point where people won't even know which format they're watching or who is going to win.
The fuel to fire was added recently in South Africa. In Durban, the World Test Cricket champion, South Africa, was playing their first test match at home in a long time. Against a formidable opponent like Australia, they would’ve expected a massive turnout. Instead, ticket sales were sparse, and many fans did not bother showing up. The empty stands became a reminder of how difficult it has become to sustain longer formats of cricket anywhere in the world. This is exactly the type of situation Srikkanth was warning about.
