ICC could axe Champions Trophy in favour of more T20 World Cups

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.

"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.”

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 has been set. I'm optimistic that they'll be given serious consideration to have every chance of succeeding,” Richardson said.