Limiting World Cup to 10 teams is not good for cricket, says Ehsan Mani

Mani was highly critical of the International Cricket Council’s decision to reduce the total number of participating teams at next year’s 2019 ICC World Cup to just 10. The ODI competition which is to be held in the United Kingdom will feature only 10 teams, down from 14 that featured in the previous two World Cups. The decision by the ICC, made during the 2015 edition in Australia, has been widely discussed amongst observers and fans.

Mani, who was the ICC president from 2003-06, said Cricket Australia was "equally responsible" along with its Indian and English counterparts in the decision to cut down the number of teams from 14 to 10.

"It was done for financial reasons and it stems back to when India got knocked out early at the 2007 World Cup and broadcasters wanted more Indian matches. It is a hypocritical decision and it's not acting in the best interests of the game. The World Cup should be a celebration of the sport and it is a disgraceful decision. It is very disappointing that the ICC didn't revisit the decision.

"Every board is self-serving but the world is changing quickly and the boards need to wake up to this. Do they just want to take a short-term view and squeeze all the money out? There is a lack of vision for the game because giving Associates nations a chance will improve their development and, in turn, make the game stronger," Mani told Cricbuzz.

Mani revealed that the decision was a sign of cricket not being inclusive as compared to other sports such as football and basketball.

"Football, basketball, and rugby are increasing the number of teams at World Cups. Cricket has always been an elitist sport and this is another example of that. It has to be an inclusive sport to bring countries like Afghanistan, Scotland and Ireland into events like the World Cup.

"We saw football grow markedly in the USA after the World Cup was held there in 1994," he added. "Cricket should look at a World Cup or World T20 being held in the USA or China down the track. They are huge markets and it would be a worthy investment in the sport," Mani added.