The decision to change the format of the World Cup was taken under the chairmanship of ICC Chairman Jay Shah.Image Credit source: Getty Images
ICC’s decision to change the format of ODI World Cup 2027 has created a stir in the cricket world. The International Cricket Council has suddenly changed the format of cricket’s biggest tournament to be held in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia next year. This decision of change of ICC headed by Jay Shah is being heavily criticized and it is being considered harmful for small teams. Now the captains of 4 such teams have raised their voice against it.
What changed in the format of the World Cup?
ICC recently held its annual general meeting. men’s world cup 2027 And announced changes in the format of the 2028 Men’s T20 World Cup. In this, the format of ODI World Cup has become a matter of controversy. Actually, only 12 teams will get entry in the main round of this 14-team tournament. This is because a qualifier series will be played between the 3 last placed teams, out of which only one will get a chance in the 12-team group stage, while 2 will be eliminated.
This one decision has raised questions over the associate teams qualifying for the tournament playing in the entire World Cup. The reason for this is that according to the ranking, most of the associate teams will be in 2 out of the last 3 places and in such a situation only one of them will be able to reach the next round. Earlier, this World Cup was expected to be played in the format of 2003, in which all 14 teams played group stage matches. But this will not happen now.
Captains got angry
The captains of teams like Namibia, Scotland, Netherlands and Ireland have expressed their displeasure over this decision. Netherlands captain Scott Edwards even questioned ICC’s claims of expanding cricket. He said, “ICC talks a lot about the development of the game around the world but such decisions make it difficult for associate countries to play against the best teams in the world.”
Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus, one of the three hosts of the World Cup, said, “We all believe that you have to earn the right to play in the World Cup, but we also want the qualification to be such that we get a real chance to play on the biggest stage.”
‘Take advice from players, learn from Football World Cup’
Similarly, Scotland captain Richie Berrington also expressed his unhappiness and said that the players should also be consulted. He said, “Players are not expected to take every decision on their own, but those decisions which have a major impact on the game and the players’ career, should be consulted with the players.”
Despite being a full member of ICC, it is not certain that a team like Ireland will play. Team captain Paul Stirling gave the example of the FIFA World Cup and said, “Small and associate teams are continuously doing well and contributing in global events. The Football World Cup is an example of what is happening in other sports and hence cricket should also adopt a similar approach.”
