ICC could axe Champions Trophy in favour of more T20 World Cups
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The ICC is mulling the possibility of scrapping the ICC Champions Trophy in favour of staging the World Twenty20 every two years, according to ICC Chief Executive David Richardson. Pakistan won their maiden CT title on Sunday, after beating India by 180 runs in the final.
Although the ICC were planning to scrap the Champions Trophy after the 2013 edition which India won, the event has continued to exist owing to the edition's huge popularity and viewership. Even Sunday’s final between India and Pakistan was watched by a worldwide television audience of millions.
However, some officials believe the eight-team event is now too similar to the World Cup which the ICC, controversially, has decided should be contested by just 10 teams from the 2019 event in England. India
"At this stage, the next Champions Trophy is still scheduled for India in 2021. Whether that gets changed, the consideration has been given to changing to two T20s in a four-year cycle which would mean swapping the Champions Trophy for a World T20.”
David Richardson
"At this stage, the next Champions Trophy is still scheduled for India in 2021. Whether that gets changed, the consideration has been given to changing to two T20s in a four-year cycle which would mean swapping the Champions Trophy for a World T20.”
“The fact is that World T20s do attract a lot of interest, they generate significant revenue for the television companies, but most importantly from our point of view they provide us with an opportunity to give more opportunities to more teams,” he added.
Though a 10-team 50 over world cup may not sound enticing, Richardson revealed his reasons for the same saying, "With a 10-team World Cup we're hoping to increase the competitiveness of matches and the standard of the tournament as a whole. A 16-team World T20 -- even a 20-team World T20 -- down the line is something that we would like to look at.”
Finally, this week’s ICC meeting at the Oval is also set to decide whether to grant Test status to Ireland and Afghanistan, with an announcement expected on Thursday. "It's never wise to try and make a call too early, but certainly the applications of both are very well founded. They both, on the face of it, meet the majority, if not all, of the full member criteria that
