ICC Cricket Committee proposes radical rule changes to make World Test Championships and ODI formats exciting

International Cricket Council (ICC) elected cricket committee has proposed huge rule changes to make the game better. The proposed rule changes pertain to the World Test Championships (WTC) and One Day Internationals (ODI) in particular. 

It is to be noted Sourav Ganguly is heading the Cricket Committee with Jay Shah set to take over as new ICC Chief in December. Some of the other members of the cricket committee include former India star VVS Laxman along with former international skippers like Mahela Jayawardene, Shaun Pollock, and Daniel Vettori along with Roger Harper. 

The committee has suggested that any series in the World Test Championship cycle constitute a of minimum 3 Test matches. The recent India vs Bangladesh series was a 2- match series. This change has been advocated for a long time with many former players in favor of minimum 3 Tests being played. 

ODI cricket set to receive huge boost to attract viewership

One unnamed ICC source while speaking to the Times of India said “Some countries like South Africa, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka play just 2 Test series. Only India, England, and Australia play long Test series. That doesn’t help in promoting Test cricket and the points distribution becomes very unfair. The recommendations are targeted at wiping out such disparities”

According to the source, there are also suggestions for more pink ball Test matches to be played. India are set to play Australia in the Day and Night Test match in Adelaide in December. The last time India hosted a day and night Test was in 2022 where Rohit Sharma’s side beat Sri Lanka in Bengaluru. 

The source while speaking to the newspaper said “The ICC committee feels the Pink ball Tests have brought more people into the stadiums. Recently one saw very poor turnouts in Pakistan. The three pink-ball Tests in India sold more tickets than usual. Test-playing nations must be encouraged to schedule more pink-ball Tests”

Finally, there are also steps being taken to make ODI cricket more interesting. According to the suggestions made the two new ball rules must be in effect only till the 25th over. Post that the innings will be played with just one ball to bring reverse swing and bowlers back into the game. 

While speaking about this suggestion the ICC source told TOI “The recommendations will be sent to the captains. A consensus must be achieved on this. But this looks to be the best option to bring reverse swing and finger spinners back into the game”