ICC needs to establish a coherent structure; T20 leagues need proper recognition
Over the years almost all meetings of the International Cricket Council have revolved around Test cricket and many suggestions have floated around how to keep the longest form still relevant.
Things look brighter, at least on paper currently, as for the first time in a very long time the authorities have finally conjured up something worthwhile and have decided to inject some context into the game, and make the matches which have been grappling to garner attention worthwhile for the viewers, for the game can only be healthy if the fans stay tuned to action unfolding primarily on the field.
For starters, the game knows what it needs at this point of time: two groups of 6 teams each fighting it out over two years, and then finally the top 2 teams would be involved in all-important Test final. This could just breathe a fresh lease of live into the so-called attrition which is becoming synonymous with cricket.
Amidst all the positivity, there is a new frown on the faces of the administrators and this time it is because they have to ensure that the new kid on the block in the form of Twenty20 leagues around the world do not impede but become catalysts for the growth of the game. The need for a coherent structure has become a necessity more so in the current 'slam-bam-thank you man' times.
Now that context would finally help in the surge of Test cricket, the administrators need to identify a way to accommodate the T20 phenomenon in and around the purest form of the game. Often this version has been a subject of too much negativity and people believe that this is only for the fun and frolic and there is not enough cricket to actually take it seriously.
Not anymore, the 'pyjama party' has given more than enough indications that it needs to be taken seriously and that a proper structure should be put into place. While Test cricket needs safeguarding, we cannot be in denial over the tremendous future of these T20 leagues.
A global structure which maintains a balance between the three formats is the need of the hour!
The ICC is well aware that the Future Tours Programme is a flawed arrangement and for long it was heavily skewed in favour of the infamous Big-3 which led to broken bilateral series often which did not have any context and the matches just made up the numbers. This pact needs to be identified and done away with at the earliest.
Also, the ICC needs to take the decision away from the players when it comes down to deciding between formats. No player wants to opt out of National duty just for the T20 leagues, but the current structure is such that there is no grey shade left in between the black and white shades.
Players know the future of these leagues and these are not merely financial. There is a huge amount of branding and marketing involved which at the end of the day secures the future of all involved, for after all the peak of an athlete is not for too long and the shelf life is quite limited.
It is thus the job of the ICC and all the respective boards to chalk out a strategy to keep these players engaged in all their fixtures without putting them in a tight spot.
It is but human nature to seek greener pastures and if the ICC does not build the same plot around International cricket, it cannot blame the players for shifting towards the league formats.
The players themselves take a lot of pride in representing their countries but owing to the haphazard scheduling they are forced to look elsewhere and the financial benefits are up for grabs in the league structure.
T20 leagues cannot and should not be looked as a different commodity and the different countries and the ICC change their perspective towards it. For too long these leagues have been used as a feeder to International teams and perhaps this why they have never be accorded the same level of importance.
The only option available at the moment is that leagues and International cricket should be clubbed together and the players should have the best of both worlds, for only if the best players are available will the game prosper!