Life goes on, so does cricket!
It is often said, “Things change, stuff happens, but life goes on”. In the current context, it won’t be wrong to say the same about the beautiful game of cricket.
Barely a week has passed since the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final in Melbourne, the Englishmen had hardly recovered from the victory hangover and international matches are about to start again. India is touring New Zealand for a T20 and ODI series while the newly crowned T20 World Champions stay back Down Under for an ODI series against Australia.
The boys are ready for the Kiwi challenge 🔥
📸: Deepak Hooda
#cricket #INDvsNZ #india https://t.co/TfAwBCf0Xx
Well, the ODI series can still be digested with the 50-overs men’s World Cup scheduled for next year. But what is the significance of a T20 bilateral series just after the World Cup? Speaking of World Cups, it has poured over the past few years. For the men, we had a T20 World Cup in 2021, one in 2022 (which just got concluded) and another one to crown the ODI champions next year. By the time that gets over, we will be ready for the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Many would fail to recall the winner of the last World Cup
Phew! Are we serious? Four World Cups in as many years! Gone are the days when the World Cup used to take place once every four years. The caretakers of the game and the people behind scheduling might argue that these are two different formats. ODI World Cup still takes place once in four years and it is only the T20 World Cup which is scheduled every alternate year. There is also a line of thought that T20 should be viewed totally differently. And then of course there is the monetary angle. By all accounts, it is Moolah who is ruling the roost.
However, is it good for the game in the long run? Are we not at risk of losing the interest of the fans? Back in the day, diehard cricket fans were able to recite the scorecard of important World Cup fixtures with the same fluency as though it was a mathematics table of number two. But now, many would fail to recall even the winner of the last World Cup. Unfortunately, that’s the harsh reality.
If this arduous international scheduling, which barely gives time for even fans to recover wasn’t enough, then there are numerous T20 leagues. Right from Dombivli (a suburb in Mumbai) to cricketing nations have their own leagues. Pick up the sports page of any newspaper in India or log in to social media and you will find that fans are already talking about IPL retentions. They seem to have moved on from the agony of losing the semi-final against England.
Has cricket reached a stage of ’I don't care'?
Compare it to the semi-finals of the Reliance World Cup in 1987 or the Wills World Cup in 1996 and the stark difference gets amplified. The wounds of those losses took their own not-so-sweet time in healing. Now it is always good to move on and look ahead. So, in that sense, the current attitude towards cricket appears to be forward-looking.
But is it that or has cricket reached a stage where people are saying, “I don’t care”? It is a question that the authorities need to ponder upon. The impact that it is having on cricketers is another extremely important aspect which I will leave for another day.
Tomorrow morning will definitely come, but the answer to the above question will determine whether it will be sunny or gloomy as far as cricket is concerned.