The Indian veteran is afraid of the diminishing passion for the longer format of cricket.
There is a certain fever that engulfs the cricket audience right now. It is the fever of small but entertaining T20 matches. The twenty-over format sits right on the cusp of entertainment and time-saving. Quick action, explosive batting, runs pouring in, and bowlers getting thrashed is something that audiences love to watch. With the extensive rise in popularity of leagues like the Indian Premier League and the Big Bash League, the T20 phenomenon has undoubtedly started to overtake other forms of cricket.
A major reason behind this huge influx of viewership also comes from the diminishing attention span of the audience. The majority of the viewers consume content on mobile devices. They are pretty busy with their own lives to dedicate hours for something that can last one whole day. So, the short T20 format appeals to them better than anything else can. Besides that, the marketing behind T20 cricket and the way younger talents are promoted in this format is also the X-factor that propels it forward. The audience readily tunes in to watch their favorite youngster make a name for themselves.
Dinesh Karthik wants BCCI and ICC to put more effort into longer cricket formats
The one-day international matches are few and far between. The only reason why the audience is actively interested in ODI is because of the World Cup. Since the 2027 World Cup is approaching soon, the governing bodies across world cricket have actively started promoting the same. But besides that, both ODI and Test cricket are sidelined. The themes and pop culture marketing are something that is missing from these formats.
Considering the minimum efforts that are being put into ODI matches and the ODI format in general, Dinesh Karthik is worried that it might end up disappearing in favor of T20 matches.
“I think ODI cricket is in a very bad place. It is on a ventilator right now. I think people have warmed up to T20 cricket very easily & they love it. Test cricket is the purest form of the game; there are some takers for it,” Karthik said in a recent interview.
“There are two-three countries following it passionately, which are for sure Australia & England; India is probably just about there. I don't think there is any country that is passionately following ODI cricket. It is neither here nor there in today's cricketing world. It feels like an elongated T20 game, which is not fun either.”
Karthik also believes that social media plays a major role in sidelining the ODI format. The governing bodies try to shorten the matches as much as possible in order to produce quick-hit content that easily grabs the attention of the public. It is definitely a terrible situation when Karthik puts the argument forward. The ODI World Cup is the legacy of cricket, and without the relevance of the ODI format, it won’t achieve the craze that it deserves to.
