50-over cricket under threat as T20 franchise format conquers all

At its annual general meeting on July 25 and 26, the International Cricket Council met to confirm its future tours program for matches between its 12 full members between May 2023 and April 2027.

The stand-out feature of the program is the almost total lack of games between the end of March and early June in each year.

It should come as no surprise for regular readers of this column to learn that the vacuum is filled by the Indian Premier League. Its encroachment on and erosion of international cricket seems to know no bounds, nor does it or its sponsoring media companies and advertisers show any signs of their appetite for money being satiated.

Evidence of the growth of the shortened game format Twenty20 cricket, in addition to the IPL, is all around. The latest incarnation has arisen in South Africa with the announcement of franchise owners by Cricket South Africa on July 20. A total of 10 places were made available for interested bidders to own a franchise, and six have been successful, all of them IPL franchise owners.

The Newlands, Cape Town, franchise is held by Reliance Industries Ltd., owner of the Mumbai Indians; that at Kingsmead, Durban, by RPSG Sports Private Ltd., owner of the Lucknow Super Giants; while Sun TV Network Ltd., owner of SunRisers Hyderabad, holds the franchise at St. George’s Park, Gqeberha. At Wanderers, Johannesburg, Chennai Super Kings Cricket Ltd. holds sway, as do the Royals Sports Group, owner of Rajasthan Royals, at Boland Park, with JSW Sports, the owner of Delhi Capitals, completing the set at SuperSport Park, Pretoria.

The force behind these franchises is a mix of ultra-rich people and companies. The chair of Reliance Industries is Mukesh Ambani, reported to be the 11th-richest