"Anyone who thinks T20 is a better game than the 50-over game is off their rocker" - Ian Chappell fears for future of ODI cricket
Former Australian captain Ian Chappell has expressed fear for the future of the 50-over format due to the negligence towards it by administrators.
The comments came in the wake of Cricket Australia (CA) announcing that the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy would be played in the form of the upcoming three-match T20I series between Australia and New Zealand, starting on Wednesday, February 21. Since its inception in 2004, the Chappell-Hadlee Trophy has always been contested in the ODI format between the teams.
CA further stated a points system to be used for back-to-back ODI and T20I series to avoid the possibility of the trophy swapping hands twice in days or weeks.
Speaking to the World Wide of Sports, Chappell felt the change reflected the sad state of ODI cricket.
"They certainly have T20 cricket at the top of the pole, and there's more and more T20 cricket being played and less and less 50-over cricket. Anyone who thinks T20 is a better game than the 50-over game is off their rocker. The administrators have let 50-over cricket go, and I think they've let it go to the point where they may not be able to resurrect it," said Chappell.
Chappell added that the 50-over game was the best format after Test cricket and blamed the administrators for giving it lesser importance.
"I'd like to think that you'll get good crowds at the 50-over game because it's a very good game of cricket – the next best thing to a Test match. But it's not in the mind of the administrators at the moment, and whether you can turn the clock back, I'm not so sure," stated Chappell.
"I don't see the World Cup going up in smoke – it's too important and it's still pretty well attended. But if you're going to have the World Cup, you've got to have the players playing some matches. But will it have the importance that it used to have? I'm very doubtful," he added.
Despite the 2023 ODI World Cup drawing excellent crowds and achieving tremendous viewership numbers, other 50-over games have witnessed dwindling crowds in most parts of the world.
"Don't think if I played a 20-over game and I faced four balls, that I would walk off the field thinking I've earnt my beer" - Ian Chappell
Ian Chappell felt the emergence of T20s and T10 cricket has played a major role in the reduced popularity of the 50-over format.
Yet, he felt playing a 20-over game would provide him no satisfaction as a cricketer and questioned what would be the next step if T20s became mundane.
"As a cricketer, I want to walk off the field at the end of the day's play thinking I've earned my beer. I don't think if I played a 20-over game and I faced four balls, that I would walk off the field thinking I've earnt my beer," said Chappell.
"There are T20 leagues popping up everywhere, and now you've got a few T10 leagues … what are you going to do if the crowd get bored with T20? Are you going to cut it back to T10 and then T5? How are you going to play a T5 game, walk off the field, and think you've earned your beer?" Chappell concluded.
Australia will play only the three T20Is and two Tests in the upcoming tour of New Zealand despite the teams not facing each other in a bilateral ODI series since 2022.
The T20 format will attain greater prominence in the coming months, with the IPL set to begin next month and the World Cup in June.