Cricket is at crossroads and revolution seems inevitable

Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, in his historic speech at the midnight of 15th August 1947 said “A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance.” But here we are not talking about the soul of a nation but the soul of our beloved sport – Cricket. 

After nearly 145 years of cricket that we see today, our sport is witnessing a tectonic shift and is at crossroads. In this article, we will discuss why it is imperative for cricket to choose one of the paths rather than trying to establish a fine balance. 
 
What’s all this fuss about? 

Cricket as a sport has always been country-centric in nature. It has always been the case of national teams going against each other rather than a system like football, where it is dominated by clubs, barring global events like the FIFA World Cup, and continental events such as the UEFA Euro Championship. 

The advent of the T20 format ignited an evolution with T20 cricket gaining prominence and once the Indian Premier League (IPL) got into the system, the cricketing world order changed for a better. The IPL and the magnitude of its success took the whole cricket ecosystem by surprise. In order to emulate IPL’s success, various other countries came up with their franchise leagues. This development created a disruption in international cricket at an unprecedented pace and the International Cricket Council (ICC), the apex cricket governing body, didn't anticipate this. 

The glamour and weight of the paycheques in these leagues is so massive that international cricketers seldom overlook their national teams and play for franchises all over the world. This phenomenon started  happening frequently with players coming from the Caribbean, who represent West Indies in international Cricket, and slowly it is spreading its wings to other countries as well. 

More so with countries like South Africa where the cricket board has weakened over the years and the financial strength has also gone down. Prominent players like Quinton De Kock chose to prioritize franchise cricket over a particular format of the game and there are multiple such instances where players chose franchise leagues over international cricket making their national teams weaker. 

Probable paths to tackle this unchecked evolution?

Before delving into whetherCCricket should take one of the two paths or create a fine balance, let’s look into what precisely those paths are. One road that the sport can take is going forward with the system of dominant international cricket and limiting the space for franchise cricket. The other alternative is giving prominence to franchise leagues and limiting the role of international cricket but not reducing its importance. 
 
Keeping the existing system intact: - 

As mentioned earlier, cricket in its present form is country-centric in nature. It is mainly about national teams clashing against each other. Though this system has witnessed a disruption in the last 10-15 years, it still stands strong, but not without glaring cracks. Now, let’s see how this system can be kept intact. 

To stop the further disruption, the ICC will have to put up a strong front. A clear mandate is needed from the ICC which makes it mandatory for players to be available for their national sides when called up. To do this, ICC will have to keep various boards in confidence and there should be an overarching consensus.

Rigorous rules along with punitive provisions will be required if this must be adopted which might have its adverse implications such as players opting to quit international cricket and only play for franchises around the globe. If this happens, international cricket might not sustain its existing character. 

To avoid this possibility, a second step needs to be taken but what is that? The current system can be kept intact by giving more context to international cricket. Apart from world events like the ODI World Cup and T20 World Cup, teams play bilateral series which are not of much significance, and more often than not, there is nothing at stake in these bilateral series.

These bilateral series fail to capture the attention of the masses because of the absence of competitive context. This issue can be addressed by bringing back the trend of the Triangular and Quadrangular  Series which used to happen in the past. These competitive tournaments will definitely bring context and ultimately people will switch on their TV sets to witness such action. 

As far as Test cricket is concerned, a system of divisions should be brought emulating the English county championship. This will help to increase the competitiveness and quality of Test cricket  and because there is a reward of promotion, lower-rung test sides will also be pushing hard to get better in Test Cricket and ultimately get to the first division. This will further enhance the appeal of Test cricket, which has been reinvented after the introduction of the World Test Championship. 

Bilateral Series is one of the prominent reasons why cricket has not been able to expand its reach. Stronger cricketing dont' want to indulge into a lot of action against the minnows, which stalls the growth of upcoming cricketing nations. 

A league system with two divisions can be introduced in ODI cricket on the lines of club football with 16 teams in each division. It will enable the growth of upcoming nations and will bring context to ODI cricket apart from the World Cup. A year-long league with promotion and relegation will give instant rewards to teams and it will keep ODI cricket lively and interesting for people rather than bilateral series that have lost its importance.

Apart from the World Cup, teams have nothing to brag about, other than the number of bilateral series that they play. This league will give them a title to compete for. These steps are audacious but if they are implemented properly, they will surely make international cricket more resilient and it will also create more revenue which will give cricket boards more authority. International Cricket must be made more attractive and competitive if it has to sustain itself. ICC will have to shed this exclusive nature of cricket if it wants cricket to be made a global sport in a true sense. 
 
Moving towards Franchise system: - 

To expand cricket and make it a global sport, another alternative is to tread towards a franchise system which will be very similar to how football is run at the moment, with various leagues taking place simultaneously and international football being played in stipulated windows. First, let's go into the depth of this system. If this system is given prominence, the first thing that will happen is the duration of these franchise leagues will certainly increase.

With all these leagues happening at the same time, one thing that is guaranteed is the expansion of the player pool in world cricket. What currently happens is, for instance, Andre Russel plays in the IPL for Kolkata Knight Riders but he plays for Trinbago Knight Riders in the Caribbean Premier League as well. It is possible because both these leagues take place in different time periods.

If the duration of all the franchise leagues around the globe expands, same players won’t be able to play for multiple franchises at the same time. This will bring competitiveness in the market for players and better leagues would land bigger players by giving them lucrative contracts. 

The franchise leagues, apart from big ones like IPL or BBL, would have no other option but to give a chance to lesser-known players from around the globe who are talented. If this happens, upcoming and associate nations will benefit greatly as their players will get to rub shoulders in some of the best franchise leagues. 

Apart from expanding the leagues, a global franchise tournament like the Champions League Twenty20 will help to amplify the appeal of Cricket in markets like the USA. It will also integrate various franchise leagues where they will compete against each other for supremacy. 

Imagine the possibility of a match between Mumbai Indians and Karachi Kings or Chennai Super Kings playing against Perth Scorchers. It will not just be limited to teams playing against each other but the stature of these franchise leagues will also be at stake.

This cut-throat competition will provide another dimension to the world of cricket. In this system, the role of international cricket can be limited to stipulated windows and the concept of bilateral series should be scrapped. Every ICC tournament should be based on qualifiers rather than ICC rankings. Rankings should be used to determine the teams participating in qualifiers. For instance, the top 24 or 28 teams participating in the qualifiers for a place in the main tournament. 

This will add context to international matches and at the same time it will put the ICC tournaments on a pedestal where it will become the biggest entity of World Cricket, similar to football. The FIFA World Cup is the biggest sporting showpiece in the world only because teams play fewer international matches but those international matches hold great value. Teams across the world compete hard to find a place in the main tournament which makes the FIFA World Cup such a sought-after event. 

Some will argue that bringing a system of qualifiers would reduce the competitiveness because weaker teams would play against much stronger sides but there is no other way Cricket can be made a global sport. Cricket will have to break this glass ceiling of exclusivity. This franchise system will bring players from developing cricketing nations into their fold which will give them an opportunity to improve and ICC can amplify that process of development by giving upcoming and associate nations a chance to compete with giants like Australia, India, England, and others, in international cricket through a system like qualifiers.  

Revolution is the need of the hour: 

Cricket is at a very crucial juncture. The time has come when the sport needs to be reinvented if it wants to scale greater heights in terms of global appeal. Cricket should not be limited only to South Asia and a few other countries. It has the potential to attract larger masses and create a bigger market for itself. Those sitting in the decision-making authority must look at the bigger picture. An effort to create a fine balance is fatal as there will be no clear roadmap for Cricket. 

Too much ambiguity and complexity in the structure of the sport will prove detrimental to its 
growth. It is time for a revolution, not rectification!

By- Navtej Vatsa