KOLKATA: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has signed decided to convert the 2021 Champions Trophy scheduled in India into a World T20 event, finally scrapping the eight-team ODI tournament, the context and relevance of which has been questioned repeatedly.
At the end of its five-day board meeting, ICC members signed off Thursday on a new Future Tours Programme (FTP) for 2019-2023 that incorporates the introduction of a World Test Championship and an additional ICC World T20 event in place of the Champions Trophy in 2021.
ICC chief executive David Richardson said the global body has “unanimously agreed” that the 2021 meet in India would now be a 16-team event in the shortest format.
Richardson’s announcement meant that BCCI representative Amitabh Chaudhary also voted in favour of the change after the initial opposition to the move.
The development means that there would be two ICC World T20 events in two years – the 2020 edition in Australia and the 2021 edition in India. This in addition to the 2019 ODI World Cup to be hosted by England.
Three World Cups in as many years. This can certainly only happen in cricket. Richardson, however, was at pains to point out at a media briefing at the end of the meeting that this was a “one-off” necessitated by the scrapping of the Champions Trophy.
“Unfortunately that’s just because of the schedule how it works. There would not have been an option I suppose of moving the T20 into 2022. But going forward in the future, every two years World T20, every four years the World Cup and don’t forget the ODI League building up to each World Cup,” PTI quotes him as having stated.
The billion dollar question is of course around the circumstamces that convinced the BCCI, which had been opposed to the move, to come around. Money talks as it were, more so with the BCCI than any other cricket board.
According to The Telegraph, it was an assurance from Star Sports, global broadcast rights holder of all ICC events till 2022, that “significantly more revenue” would enter the world body’s coffers, that led to the BCCI’s volte-face.
And Star’s point of view will perforce carry more weight then ever seeing as it is now the host broadcaster to all cricket that comes under the Indian board’s purview.
The daily quotes a well-placed source in the ICC as having said: “Look, the ICC needs to build its reserves and, so, the assurance from the broadcast rights holder led to the Champions Trophy being dumped…
“It’s a decision driven by sheer economics and cannot really be contested…
“India were all in favour of the Champions Trophy, but didn’t resist the change once the mood in the ICC became clear…
“Had India forced a vote, there’s every chance that nobody else would have supported the cause of the Champions Trophy…
“That India didn’t push beyond a point was, in fact, a tactical decision.”
For the record, the final structure of the FTP (19-23) includes the following:
ICC Cricket World Cup – 2019, 2023
ICC World T20 – 2020, 2021
ICC World Test Championship Final – 2021, 2023
World Test Championship
Cycle 1 – 2019-2021
Cycle 2 – 2021-2023
ICC Cricket World Cup Qualification League – 2020-2022
All bilateral Tests, ODIs and T20Is outside of the above competitions
