ODIs can thrive, but ‘random’ bilaterals must end: ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta

ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta said that the era of bilateral series that are “randomly scheduled” must come to an end, keeping the sustainability of the sport in mind. Gupta reckoned that emphasis must be placed on growing the sport, but believed that there was a place for the ODI format.

Gupta’s comments come amid growing concerns over the future of ODIs and a month after the ICC unveiled a new format for next year’s World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. The format change drew criticism from renowned Associate players, as well as the cricket boards of Scotland and Netherlands.

“The era of randomly scheduled bilateral series has to come to an end, because countries will not be able to sustain cricket without context, culture, competition and competitiveness, which require significant investment of resources, both financial and non-financial,” Gupta told PTI.

“It’s important to stay focused on the four levers which drive attention and affiliation - context, culture, competition and competitiveness - and ODIs can continue not just to survive, but thrive.

“There is a place for the format in the product portfolio, which is inextricably linked to men’s and women’s ICC Cricket World Cups. We need to look at what we want the format to stand for and how we want it to evolve, including the expanse of participation,” he added.

Stressing on the need for a growth-first approach, Gupta opined that Test cricket could become “burdensome” if its legacy and prestige were “not made relevant and amplified”.

“Our ambition has to be growth; our ambition should never be to maintain the status quo,” Gupta said. “Because in this world, where population is growing, attention is getting disaggregated and affiliation is hard to sustain, if you’re not growing, you’re dying.”

While acknowledging that T20 remains the ICC’s primary vehicle for taking the game to new markets, Gupta said that growth cannot come at the expense of examining the economics of the other formats, particularly Test cricket.

“Every time there is conversation around the commercials of Test cricket, the passion, pride and legacy tend to override the conversation around the economics,” Gupta said. “I don’t think the answer is necessarily binary, and I don’t think it’s a question solely for Test cricket to answer but one which must be asked of all our products across formats and events.

“Our primary tool of global growth is T20 cricket, but that does not mean we don’t focus on growing the value or engagement around ODIs or Test cricket. The World Test Championship Final is now an event of significance and one that didn’t even exist seven years ago,” he added.

Gupta said that the ICC would continue to invest in “growing the status, significance and spectacle associated with cricket’s marquee events”. However, he batted for an optimal scheduling of Test cricket outside the Big Three - India, England and Australia - to make the format more appealing to the fans.

“Test matches in certain countries are of immense fan value, but can we focus more on providing Members with opportunities to build occasions of appointment and significance in Test cricket?

“That has to be by virtue of the World Test Championship having more meaning and a continuing narrative, by virtue of Test cricket being scheduled optimally, by virtue of Tests receiving adequate positioning and marketing support, by virtue of the competitive standards of the two teams and playing conditions being offered, and fans being promised cricket which is going to be compelling,” he said.

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