HomeCricketICC ODI Super League was the need of the...

ICC ODI Super League was the need of the hour

- Advertisement -

­For years, bilateral ODIs, once the staple of the format, had stagnated.  One can safely say that the whole concept of two teams battling it out for five or three 50-over matches without any overarching context was suffering from a serious existential threat.

Not just fans, even the players involved seemed uninterested, with their aims and motivations being shaped by the multi-nation ICC tournaments being held in that calendar year.

As I said, one-day cricket in this calendar year is not as relevant if you look at the T20s and the Tests…

- Advertisement -

These are the words of India captain and one of the biggest superstars of the contemporary game, Virat Kohli.

He said this after India dropped the 3-match ODI series in New Zealand earlier this year. The world had not yet experienced COVID-19 and we were on course for the World T20 later in the year and were in the middle of the ICC Test Championship.

Kohli’s wards had won 12 bilateral series (across formats) before losing to the Kiwis, yet the 50-over three-match series held little significance for him.

An old issue

Bilateral ODI cricket has been suffering from a lack of interest and intensity for years. Cut back to August, 2019 when India defeated West Indies meekly in another ODI series.

The cricket on show was yawn-inducing at best, abject, at worst. West Indies tottered against a much-stronger India team that had come into the series after a shock loss in the World Cup semi-final. Victory for India signified nothing of note and highlighted the lack of significance of the fixtures.

For years and even more so since the advent of T20s, the 50-over game had struggled to generate adequate interest in bilateral engagements and a shake-up, akin to what the ICC is trying with the Test Championship, was the need of the hour.

Enter ODI Super League

The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League, to give its full name, has been introduced to address the problem highlighted in the preceding lines. With 13 teams taking part all over the world over two years, the grand league aims at bringing context to bilateral meets; the top 7 teams will automatically progress to the 2023 World Cup to be held in India and join the hosts in the quadrennial showpiece.

Teams will have the added motivation of wanting to top the table come the end of the two-year window. Just like the Test Championship, the ODI Super League isn’t a perfect league in terms of the fact that not all teams will play each other, either home or away.

Netherlands have joined the 12 full members by virtue of winning the 2015-17 World Cricket League, and each team will play eight of their opponents according to parameters decided by the Future Tours Programme.

England kick off the protracted tournament by taking on Ireland in a three-match ODI series that begins today. The Super League doesn’t seem perfect at first glance, but it is a start.

We go back to Kohli’s words at the end of this piece, relevance of the kind he and other top players seek, is provided by a larger prize not offered by bilateral ODIs. The ICC will do well to explore this concept further in the coming years.

Follow us on facebook for more sports news & updates

- Advertisement -

15 Highly Educated Cricketers Of All Time

Cricket is a game of passion and dedication. A sport in which one involves themselves in camps and practice since early childhood. Due to...

Do we often under-appreciate Andy Flower? What’s his legacy?

There's a hint of sadness in noting that Zimbabwe has never been a dominant power in world cricket. But nothing could be sadder than...

Why are more and more MotoGP riders using the Noson nasal dilator?

Introduction MotoGP riders or athletes are physically fit and healthy individuals and their muscles are continuously functioning and used during the performance. As a fan...

How Come UFC Fighters Have Cauliflower Ears But Boxers Don’t?

The UFC has come a long way since its early days, wherein the fights seemed like modern-day gladiators due to its brutality and inconsistent...

5 spinners who can be India’s potential finger-spinners

The Indian cricket team has always been proud of its ability to produce world-class batsmen and similarly potent spinners. Though in recent times, the...

IPL 2018: The beautiful Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur

Being seated in the Sawai Mansingh stadium brings a different world, a world of difference away from the palpable excitement of watching truly India’s...

The astonishing decline of Mario Balotelli

There was a time when Mario Balotelli was on top of the world.  The Italian talisman had scored two goals in the Euro 2012 semi-finals,...

Top 5 Left Wingers In The World, Based On 2019-20 Season

Owing to the fact that football has evolved a lot since its inception and the tactics have changed a lot, the role of wingers...

What can be expected from the 2018 Azerbaijan Grand Prix?

Heat in the air and heat inside the car- that's been the story of the Azerbaijan Grand prix. As F1 parks itself at Baku...

How Suresh Raina Batted India Into The Finals of 2011 World Cup

Its been 9 years, since India won the Cricket World Cup defeating Sri Lanka on 2 April, 2011. The images and visuals of...

IPL 2018: The best from the West Indies

When one of nature's treacherous attacks on mankind- earthquakes- strike, their impact is measured on Richter's scale. When West Indians strike in a tournament...

Big change for India Women’s cricket as BCCI looks to finalise bowling coach soon

We are not even at the halfway stage of the 2018 cricketing season. It clearly seems there's no stopping India's women's cricket team. The...

Age Fraud in Indian Cricket: Are players really to be blamed?

There have been times while watching a cricket match when we tend to hear commentators comment on cricketers’ age. We as fans have many...

Ajax XI if they didn’t sell their star players

Based in Amsterdam, AFC Ajax, who incidentally draw their name from the legendary Greek hero of the same name, are the most successful club...

5 famous players to play for both Leeds United and Liverpool

Leeds United are back in the Premier League after 16 years and will play Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday in their very first match...

- Advertisement -

- Advertisement -