Speculation is rife that we may be seeing the last 50 over world cup cricket tournament right now. According to a report in The Cricketer magazine of the UK, the ICC is worried about the lack of spectator interest on the ground as well as dwindling television viewership in many countries for the 50 over format of cricket.
In November the ICC may hold a meeting to discuss the scrapping of the 50 over world cup and change the format to entice more spectators. It may be recalled that the present world cup tournament used to be a 60 over format before it was changed to 50 over contests. What will be the new format is left to be seen.
In some of the matches of the ongoing World Cup cricket tournament, the crowd response in India as well as the television viewership in the different cricket playing countries, has not met expectations. Within India, if the Indian team is playing, the crowds are present but when other teams are playing against each other, sections of the stadiums remain empty.
The foreign media has been quick to point out the lack of interest among the Indian cricket fans for teams that belong to other countries. Even if the matches are well contested and players give good performances, there is little interest among the fans. Are Indian cricket fans only fans of the Indian team and not the game of cricket in its entirety?
Foreign media says Indian fans are parochial
Some foreign writers have accused Indian fans of being parochial. But the issue is actually a complex one and several interconnected factors lie behind this apparent lack of interest in the ongoing World Cup.
The reason could be that the 50 over format is no longer an attractive option after the advent of the T20 version. Different experts have put forth different reasons for this palpable lack of interest in some of the contests. Many have suggested that it indicates the slow death of the 50 over format of cricket.
IPL is more popular than the World Cup
In sharp contrast there are the IPL matches in whom the stadiums are always filled to capacity regardless of which teams and players are seen in action. In fact many of the players playing in the World Cup now have played in the IPL matches too. Whenever they played in the IPL the fans turned up in large numbers to watch them. But now in the World Cup the fans don’t seem to be interested in their game. This has puzzled many commentators.
How is this matter being seen by cricket fans in other countries? India’s image and the impression that is being created at this ICC World Cup could have a bearing on India’s bid to host the Olympic Games.
Reacting to a BBC report, one reader commented: “Indian fans couldn’t care less about any team or player that is not Indian. You only have to watch opposition teams against them, they don’t cheer for any opposition player even if they reach a milestone. But you can never dare criticise their team as they’ll always come back at you.”
It is a worldwide phenomenon
But according to another reader it was not just in India alone. It has become a worldwide phenomenon because of the zooming popularity of T20 cricket. He wrote:
“The attention span of people has reduced in the modern age. They want the action of the T20 format, and even that has been deliberately manipulated for big hitting.”
It is true that the T20 format has clicked in a big way. Reduced boundaries and curtailment of bowlers have enabled the batters to pile up big scores with big hits and that enthralls the public.
But the 50-over format under which the present World Cup is being played has its own charms. It requires more stamina and concentration to build up a century or take five wickets. But the fans have been fed with a huge dose of slam-bang cricket accompanied by the IPL’s razzmatazz and now they are in no mood to wait and watch a longer format of the game.
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