'It's going the way as football in Europe' - Kapil Dev on dwindling popularity of Tests and ODIs

ODI and Test cricket are threatened due to their dwindling popularity, with T20 cricket taking over. Kapil Dev feels that ICC has a role to play in saving both formats, or it could be like club football in Europe.

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When it comes to cricket nowadays, it is mainly Twenty20 (T20) cricket that has kept the audiences engaged nowadays, with the One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and Test cricket taking a backseat. The popularity of the two formats has been steadily declining since T20 came into the fray, especially following the rise of domestic T20 tournaments, like the Indian Premier League (IPL), Big Bash League (BBL) and many more. On the same note, legendary former Indian World Cup-winning skipper Kapil Dev feels that the International Cricket Council (ICC) has a lot of work to do to ensure the relevance of the two formats. At the same time, things could be like club football in Europe.

Speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald, Dev gauged, "I think it's fading out. The ICC (International Cricket Council) is responsible for managing this game. It's going the way as football in Europe. They don't play against each country. It occurs in four years [during continental tournaments or the FIFA World Cup]. Is this what we'll have, the World Cup and the rest of the time playing club [T20 franchise] cricket?"

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"In a similar way, will cricketers eventually be playing mainly the IPL or the Big Bash or something like that? So, the ICC have to put more time into that to see how they can ensure the survival of one-day cricket, Test match cricket, not only club cricket," added Dev.

"Club cricket is OK for a while. The Big Bash is OK. But the South African league is coming. The UAE league is coming. If all the countries are going to play club cricket, then international cricket will be only for the World Cup," Dev concluded. Around four domestic T20 leagues (ILT20, CSA T20, BPL and BBL) are expected to run at the same time early next year, making things further inquisitive.