A cricket calendar that makes most happy – Let's give it a shot

Those of us who grew up watching cricket in the 1990s or 2000s, who may also be called purists by some, seem to be constantly despondent with how the game has been run for the last decade or so. Men's cricket for most of the last few years has been marred by several problems, including player unavailability due to injuries or workload management, games without context, inadequate exposure to associate nations, unequal contests and empty stands. Former players and experts, including the likes of Michael Holding and Ian Chappell, have time and again expressed their frustration at the current state of the game.

If we delve deeper into each of these problems, it is not difficult to conclude that the reasons responsible for these problems are not cricketing but purely commercial. Inequalities resulting from the financial dominance of the Big Three, coupled with the increasing influence of broadcasters, have turned cricket into a game whose governance lacks vision, direction, clarity and consistency. Several decisions by administrators over the last few years, not least the one about the 2027 ODI World Cup, illustrate my point. This has also led to the two most important stakeholders of the game, players and fans, feeling disappointed and helpless, and we both know that the crux of the matter is scheduling.

While the fans fell in love with the game watching Test and ODI cricket, one cannot ignore the value the T20 format brings, especially towards enhancing the game's financial interests and expanding its global footprint. With these thoughts in mind, I tried to work upon a global cricket calendar that tries to address some of the problems. I acknowledge that no calendar can be perfect and that the administrators might already be working on addressing some of these issues; my proposal is purely based on the logical perspective of a cricket romantic.

T20 leagues: Spread your sport and make your money

The shortest recognised format needs some governance. The first step should be to revamp The Hundred to the T20 format. The existing format of this tournament seems to be without any serious objective. This change would make it easier to bring it to a global T20 league governance framework.

The next step would be announcing the return of an annual Champions League T20 tournament, or whatever else they want to call it. The tournament should be a 10-team event hosted by a country other than India or Pakistan (so that we avoid any political issues like government permissions or player visas). In this tournament, teams should be grouped as follows:

Giving two automatic selection slots to each of The Big 3 is also aimed at disarming their financial objections, in addition to giving them the credit for their high revenue contributions.

Every player who is part of more than one T20 league should submit a form to the World Cricketers' Association every year, informing them which team they will represent in it if more than one team that they are a part of qualifies for this tournament. Franchise owners who own teams in more than one league should also build their support staff considering any potential conflicts of interest.

To help with the development of players from associate nations, one of my suggestions is to make it mandatory for every T20 league team to have at least one player in their squad from an associate nation. This one associate player quota should be exempt from the overall salary cap of the teams.

T20 internationals: add context, purpose and respect

With the current T20 World Cup cycle, in a few years it might get difficult even for real fans to remember who won it and in which year. The fact that it comes every two years, and sometimes even less, significantly reduces the respect a global tournament should command. Most of bilateral T20i cricket today also lacks any context, with its only purpose being broadcast revenue generation.

In my view, the biggest objective of this format should be to increase the number of countries playing the game at the highest level and making cricket a truly global sport. Unlike football, cricket has never seemed serious about making supposedly lesser teams consistently competitive at world cups. I propose that for most of a four-year T20 World Cup cycle, T20i cricket should be played only between associate nations. At the end of the three-year mark, the top 8-10 ranking associate nations should directly qualify for the main round of the World Cup, spread across 4-5 groups in the main tournament. The top two performing associate teams at the T20 World Cup should directly qualify for the next ODI World Cup.

Full member players should play T20i cricket only during the six-month period immediately preceding a World Cup to give their teams structure. Their skills will develop through the leagues they keep playing regularly. The revenue lost because of full members not playing much T20i cricket can be easily made up for by the annual Champions League T20.

The 50-over format: make it truly elite, restore its glory

This is the format that has been worst hit by the advent of T20 cricket. A lot of its charm is lost because of meaningless bilateral matches which no one seems to remember after some time. The only ODI cricket most fans now seem excited about is the World Cup. Players, administrators, fans – all would agree that the 50-over World Cup is the ultimate ICC title.

Those who have watched ODIs in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s would remember even the minutest details of so many matches – do we know why? It is because those matches had context, and hence, they were competitive. Every match meant something because the teams were fighting for a spot in a concrete final. The Benson & Hedges Cup, VB Series, CB Series, Sharjah Cup, Australasia Cup, Nehru Cup, Hero Cup, Titan Cup, Coca-Cola Cup, Singer Cup, Independence Cups and countless others drew fans in a way that no international cricket currently does, barring the World Cup.

My proposal is that for the first three years immediately after a 50-over World Cup, there should be no bilateral ODIs. Instead, teams should play tri-series and quadrangular series. In addition to making matches more meaningful and competitive, these allow boards to host neutral matches that still draw viewers because of the tournament format. Neutral matches can also be hosted at smaller centres that don't usually get big matches. In fact, even smaller full members can be given co-hosting rights and a share in the broadcasting revenues. This may also result in the Champions Trophy being done away with.

Bilateral ODIs should only be played in the 12 months immediately preceding a 50-over World Cup. All full member teams, plus the two associate teams that qualify for the ODI World Cup via the T20 World Cup, should play in these bilaterals, thus creating an intense, focused pre-season window for teams to lock down their 15-member tournament squads.

In addition to reviving an intelligent and dedicated fanbase, strengthening ODI cricket will also result in developing batters who have more sound techniques and better all-round games, bowlers who have more attacking mindsets and gameplans, and international cricketers who can perform across conditions and handle knockout pressure.

Test cricket: The pinnacle to preserve

Without getting into explaining why this format is the pinnacle of the game, I would just like to assert that this is the format that preserves the legacy and sanctity of the game. And despite all its criticism, I honestly think that the ICC has done substantial work in recent years to uphold the supremacy of this format. The current World Test Championship format is sensible and has added significant spark to a format that seemed all but dead around a decade ago.

I have two main suggestions at this point, though. Firstly, every Test series should have a minimum of two matches and should be part of the World Test Championship. This would remove one-off anomalies, standardise the Test landscape and give every game mathematical weight. And secondly, particularly in places like India, test matches should only be played at marquee venues. With due respect to fans from everywhere, many Test matches in recent times have drawn smaller crowds because they were played at centres having less appetite for this longest format.

The calendar that I propose is aimed at making the game more inclusive and fairer while being competitive and financially viable. It is a sincere attempt to do justice to every format, using their power to spread and strengthen the game while keeping its two most crucial stakeholders at its heart – the players and fans.

Written by: Ajitesh Mohan