Jonty Rhodes believes the growing dominance of franchise-based T20 cricket could leave bilateral One-Day Internationals fighting for relevance, even as the 50-over World Cup ensures the format retains a place on the international calendar.
Background
“When T20 cricket first started people were saying it was going to put pressure on Test cricket. Rhodes feels the bilateral calendar could be the first casualty. “Outside of a FIFA World Cup year, most of those international stars are playing for their clubs and their franchises. You might see more and more of that happening from a cricketing perspective. “We are sometimes critical of players who decide not to play for their country. “The game is going to evolve. That’s what life is about. Changes are going to happen. And it’s about us. As fans of the game, we accept it or we don’t. That’s our choice”.
Because we are bringing in a fresh crowd and a different perspective into the game, “For me, it was always the understanding that possibly 50-over cricket might be in trouble in the years ahead. Because there is that opportunity, “That choice will be ending their international career slightly earlier and then focusing on being a circuit or a franchise player around the globe. “But it’s very difficult to think of cricket without the 50-over version.
The South Africa great, speaking on the sidelines of the Rotterdam Dockers jersey launch for the inaugural edition of European T20 Premier League, said the proliferation of leagues could eventually force players to make difficult choices between international cricket and a lucrative franchise circuit. Amazingly, it hasn’t,” Rhodes said. “There will be fewer and fewer bilateral series of 50-over cricket,” he said. “To have three different formats within cricket competing with franchise cricket around the world, players will start making a choice,” he said. “It is often the case because they don’t get to play that often,” he said. But you look at other sports, it’s happening,” he said. “From that point of view, we’re really fortunate that what 50-over cricket has is a base of really passionate fans who will support their team no matter what format or version it is,” Rhodes said. Rhodes said the growing number of T20 leagues around the world could prompt players to retire from international cricket earlier.
