With the shortest format of the game, T20 gaining popularity day by day, the 50-over and also Test cricket has taken a back seat.
New Delhi: As teams in the ICC World Cup 2023 are fighting to earn a spot in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan, reports coming in that the Champions Trophy tournament will be a T20I event instead of a 50-over format.
Back in 2021, it was announced that the Champions Trophy qualification will depend on the ICC World Cup 2023 top 8 finish in the league phase of the competition. As per a report by The Guardian, that Disney Hotstar, the premium broadcaster has suggested for a T20I tournament instead of a 50-over event.
With the shortest format of the game, T20 gaining popularity day by day, the 50-over and also Test cricket has taken a back seat. Even the T10 format is also gaining some promise. It is quite evident that broadcasters will go for the 20-over matches. Even the Olympic association has accepted the T20I format for the LA Olympics in 2028.
Pakistan were the last winners of the ICC Champion Trophy back in 2017 and it was the last time, the competition was held. The Shaheens will get a chance to defend their title, this time at their own backyard.
The report said that with the diminishing popularity of the 50-over game, it will eventually ‘kill-off’ the format.
”As one broadcast insider put it, this would likely “kill off” the one-day format, even with 50-over World Cup rights already sold in some territories for both the 2027 edition in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia; and 2031 in India and Bangladesh. Bilateral ODIs would certainly be further diminished, with countries likely to prioritise the shorter white-ball game during the gaps between the global events”, the report was quoted as saying.