OPINION: Is cricket getting more like football?

Football is considered to be one the most popular sports in the world. Cricket on the other hand is popular in countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Australia, and England. Slowly and steadily this sport is making a mark in the international market but has a long way to go.

Test cricket is considered to be the oldest format of the game starting from 1877 and the sport was even less commercialized. The T20I format was introduced in 2008 and since then the popularity of the sport and cricketers have significantly increased.

How is a sport like cricket getting more like football?

The T20 tournament in India, IPL is considered to be one of the most popular tournaments in this format. The cash-rich league failed to restrict the involvement of cricketers after realizing the big potential for money that the league has. The Indian Premier League buys players from various countries and boards in England, Australia, and New Zealand have allowed their players to play the league.

The franchises are owned by the richest business enterprises and in the 2022 edition, two new teams were added as well. The broadcasting deal hit the value of $6.2 billion over 5 seasons and it is even expected by 2027 the league will have extra 20 matches.

Trent Boult refused to take the contact from New Zealand Cricket Board since he desired to be a part of franchise leagues like Australia’s Big Bash league. The popularity and attractive nature of these T20I leagues are making the cricketers ignore their duty of playing for the national team. Recently, the IPL owners bought all six franchise teams of Cricket South Africa. Indian investors are also interested in buying teams of BBL and The Hundred.

IPL franchises are also open to offering a one-year contract to players, where the teams will offer employment of twelve months to the players but they aren’t allowed to sign any other contract in that given time- period. In Football, world-class player Lionel Messi will play a few matches for Argentina as not many international matches are scheduled in a calendar year. He will play most of the matches for his club Paris Saint-German.

Such a condition would kill the Test format. This would even lower the quality of a cricketer since players would be more keen on earning money and running after fame.

There’s no denying that franchise cricket is significant but the need of the hour is to strike the right balance between both formats.

If star players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Rishabh Pant are allowed to play in the other leagues, in no time, this sport will look like football too. So we need to find the right balance to stop cricket from getting more like football.

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