Dev: T20 Test for ICC
FORMER India captain Kapil Dev has called on cricket’s governing body (ICC) to take steps to protect the Test and ODI formats amid the global growth of lucrative domestic Twenty20 competitions.
The proliferation of T20 leagues has further strained cricket’s already-bloated calendar, with new competitions in the United Arab Emirates and South Africa set to begin early next year.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is set to be given an extended window in the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) next international calendar, while England
and
Australia are also likely to get dedicated slots for their domestic franchise-based leagues.
The cramped schedule has prompted some players to leave formats, with England’s Ben Stokes quitting ODIs last month. Meanwhile, South Africa have dropped an ODI tour of Australia in January as it clashed with the launch of their T20 league.
“It’s going the way as football in Europe,” Dev told the Sydney Morning Herald on Monday (15). “They don’t play against each country. It is once in four years (during the World Cup).
“Is this what we’re going to have, the World Cup and the rest of the time playing club (T20 franchise) cricket? Will cricketers eventually be playing mainly the IPL or the Big Bash or something like that?
“The ICC have to put more time to see how they can ensure the survival of one-day cricket, Test match cricket, not only club cricket,” added Dev, who lifted the ODI World Cup as India skipper in 1983.