Cricket should learn from football and become innovative

Team India are an important brand for the ICC

What really makes a multi-nation tournament successful? Close encounters, meaningful matches, supporting pitches or spectator turnout? Not really. They might be contributing factors but when it comes to serious business it is the success rate of the Indian Cricket Team that makes a global ICC event successful, the best example being the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007.

Imagine the interest of the people in the Champions Trophy last year had India failed to qualify for the semi-finals. The sponsors and the broadcasters would have lost crores of money. The TRPs would have been dismal. But since it looks like a perennial issue it is best to ignore and work for the development and good of cricket.

If the number of spectators present in the cricket ground is a major parameter in deciding a tournament’s future then I am afraid that it won’t find any success. Isn’t it obvious that the multi-cultural population of UK was instrumental in having high attendance in the stadiums as there was something for everyone to watch? But surely we can’t say the same if the event was played in the sub-continent. Neutral matches would have had more policemen present inside the stadia than the cricket fans.

One of the ways to make this tournament more compelling and worth watching could be organizing it on the lines of FIFA Confederations Cup. It is an 8 nation series that takes place every four years in the country that hosts the FIFA World Cup the following year acting as a rehearsal for the larger tournament.

This kind of initiative could be exciting in cricket where the teams can get accustomed to the conditions and the nature of the pitches for the World Cup to be played the next year. Moreover the quality of cricket is also maintained as top sides clash with each other daily and every league match almost being a knockout match.