Five years ago when England pipped New Zealand to lift the ODI World Cup trophy, albeit on some bizarre rules, the 50-over format was the clear favourite. An overwhelming 86% of players said it was the most important tournament. But not anymore. In the latest player survey conducted by the World Cricketers Association (WCA), which was known as FICA, the T20 World Cup is closing the gap. From 85%, now, only half (50%) of the players consider ODI WC as the most important. For 35% of the players, T20 World Cup is now the most important ICC event.
There is also the increasing popularity of T20 format. Compared to 2019 when 82% of players picked Test cricket as the most important format, now, it’s only 48%. As many as 30% of the players picked T20 as the most important format.
WTC vs ODI vs T20 World Cup
With three World Cups across three formats, once the most coveted trophy, ODI is losing its sheen. To make things worse for ODIs, there is a T20 World Cup every two years. And as cricketers play T20s format the most throughout the year, it has become more interesting than before.
Take T20 World Cup 2024 for example. There have been four upsets including the USA beating Pakistan and Afghanistan beating Australia. There were at least four more games which went to the wire. South Africa could only secure a 1-run victory over Nepal. Hence, the more competitive nature of the format has become hugely popular among players.
Compared to the ODI format, barring the Netherlands upsetting an already unsettled South Africa ODI team in the 2023 WC, there were not many upsets. With the T20 World Cup expanding to 20 teams, it is also becoming an important event for associate nations.
Test sees steady decline
Not just among the fans and broadcasters though, the ODI format altogether has been on the decline for quite some time now. While Test was the most important format for 82% of the players in 2019, it’s now down to just 48%. Among the respondents, 30% of the players consider T20s as the most important format while only 22% picked ODIs. Hence, the rising popularity of T20 World Cup could be explained.
However, there was an uptick from 2019 when only 7% considered ODI as the most important format. Now, it’s up to 22%. But the reason could be the ODI World Cup in India. Had players from India and Pakistan taken part in the survey, ODI could still hold water. ODIs continue to be a preferred format for Indian and Pakistani cricketers.
It must be noted that players from India, Pakistan and Afghanistan did not take part in the WCA survey. As many as 330 players from 13 different countries took part in the latest WCA survey.
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