Legendary Indian cricketer, Kapil Dev has expressed concern about the future of ODI and Test cricket, urging the International Cricket Council (ICC) to make sure T20 cricket, especially franchise-based tournaments don’t dominate the narrative in global sport. Kapil Dev said cricket is going the football way in Europe with which bilateral cricket is losing its importance with every passing day.

The future of bilateral cricket, especially the ODIs, has become a matter of discussion with players like Ben Stokes retiring from the ODIs, saying it’s not feasible for him to perform at his peak amid the packed schedule. New Zealand fast bowler, Trent Boult earlier this month, pulled himself out of central contracts.

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 The trailblazing IPL will soon be having an extended window in the ICC’s next international calendar while England and Australia are also likely to get dedicated slots for their domestic franchise-based leagues.

During a recent chat with Sydney Morning Herald, Kapil Dev said, “It’s going the way as football in Europe. They don’t play against each country. It is once in four years (during the World Cup). Is this what we’re going to have, the World Cup and the rest of the time playing club (T20 franchise) cricket? In a similar way, will cricketers eventually be playing mainly the IPL or the Big Bash or something like that?”

He further added, “The ICC have to put more time into that to see how they can ensure the survival of one-day cricket, test match cricket, not only club cricket.”

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However, the ICC has maintained that there will be no dip in the amount of ODI cricket that is being played in the upcoming cycle. The governing body of global cricket has already scheduled as many as 3 50-over World Cups for the next 9 years, starting with the 2023 World Cup which will be hosted by India in October-November.