Franchise cricket has been on the rise ever since the birth of the Indian Premier League in 2008. Australia, England, Pakistan, West Indies, and South Africa have launched their own leagues since the inception of IPL.
In the last few years, the clamour for Franchise cricket has grown with the players focusing their energies across various leagues. The launch of Legends Leagues also has seen a few players take early retirement and dabble in the money-making exercise.
One of the biggest losses international cricket has faced is the dearth of interest in the ODI format. Even Test cricket is struggling to draw crowds as seen during the recent Pakistan vs Bangladesh Test in Rawalpindi.
Franchise Cricket set to ring knell for international teams soon?
With the amount of International cricket being played, there is a genuine fear that national sides may soon face a paucity of action. Apart from England and Australia, the crowd response to Test cricket across the world has been abysmal.
There is a genuine fear that Cricket could soon go the Football way where the Clubs have their say over international football. If we look at European football, there are three international breaks for 15 days for the players to be part of their national sides. The FIFA World Cup, EURO and COPA America are played during the season break.
Franchise Cricket begins with the SA 20 league in January and February, clashing with the Big Bash League. It is at the same time that Australian cricket season is in full flow and the clash causes fan fatigue and has drawn the crowds away from Test and ODI Cricket.
This is followed by the Pakistan Super League, Women’s Premier League, and the Indian Premier League. It is a well-known fact that almost all the cricketers have made themselves available for IPL. New Zealand sent their second-string side for the Pakistan tour this year, suggesting that Cricket Boards also don't mind their main players competing in these tournaments. Many boards don’t schedule a series for fear of losing their best players to the IPL.
The only time international cricket gets a look in is during the June-August window when the likes of England, West Indies and Zimbabwe host their home series. Even that window is now threatened by the emergence of Major League Cricket and the T20 blast with stars inking multiple-year deals.
Now that many franchises are looking to secure the future of their star investments, international cricket is in danger. At one stage when a country like India was playing an average of 30 ODI matches per year, the count has drastically fallen to three in the calendar year of 2024.
It is high time the ICC wakes up from its slumber and does something to buck this trend. If they don’t, we may very well see a time in the not-so-distant future when the fans will forget that international cricket even exists. While T20 Cricket may be the future, international cricket needs to survive too and there has to be a balance which has to be found.