Former India cricketer Robin Uthappa believes in the time to come, fans’ interest in the One-day International (ODI) format will decrease, leaving only T20s and Tests in international cricket. He added that T10 could become a great format to introduce non-traditional nations to the game.
“I think the game is evolving in that direction. But it’s also the viewership that dictates, what’s going to be more popular and what’s going to evolve, and what’s going to devolve. And it’s been a very natural process of evolution in that sense, which is why the T20 Cricket is coming to the fore. I do certainly believe that there will be a few more T10 leagues that will also come through the ranks.
“And like I said, T10 is a great version of cricket to kind of introduce the associate nations that are just starting, say teams like Germany, or China, and teams such as those to kind of play those so that they get a feel of what the sport generally entails,” Uthappa said in a select press briefing.”
I don’t think we live in a world where…: Robin Uthappa
Uthappa is currently playing for Dubai Capitals in the inaugural edition of the ILT20 in the UAE and was also seen in action on Thursday evening in the match against Gulf Giants at Sharjah. He also went on to share his thoughts on ODI cricket on the verge of being phased out due to the rise in T20 leagues.
“And I see the game evolving in that direction and 50 over cricket, I don’t think we live in a world today where people can invest seven hours of their day into coming and watching a 50 or a one-day game at the stadium or investing that much time and watching a one-day game you know or at home, on the telly, today you do get apps as well.
“So, the viewership will drop, and I think the evolution after this FTP cycle should be to kind of slowly wean off one-day cricket and move towards T20 and perhaps T10 Cricket and that’s where it should stop, it shouldn’t get lesser than that,” he added.
