Former India cricketer Robin Uthappa has predicted that the One-day International (ODI) format will decline in the future, leaving only T20s and Tests in international cricket. He also suggested that T10 could become a great format to introduce non-traditional nations to the game.
In an interview with the press, Uthappa said, "I think cricket is evolving and we as human beings are very rigid in the sense as a society, cricket is evolving, and it is extending to the point perhaps even in the direction of football that happened so many decades ago and in time you will see more leagues than international cricket. Right now, at this current FTP cycle, there seems to be a lot of cricket, international cricket is still there but you can see the rise of T20 cricket coming in."
Uthappa went on to share his thoughts on ODI cricket being phased out due to the rise in T20 leagues. He said, "No, I think the game is evolving in that direction. But it's also the viewership that dictates, what's going to be more popular and what's going to evolve, and what's going to devolve. And it's been a very natural process of evolution in that sense, which is why the T20 Cricket is coming to the fore. I do certainly believe that there will be a few more T10 leagues that will also come through the ranks."
The former India cricketer also highlighted the benefits of introducing T10 cricket to associate nations. He said, "T10 is a great version of cricket to kind of introduce the associate nations that are just starting, say teams like Germany, or China, and teams such as those to kind of play those so that they get a feel of what the sport generally entails."
Uthappa believes that the decline in viewership of ODI cricket is a key factor in the evolution of the sport. He said, "I see the game evolving in that direction and 50 over cricket, I don't think we live in a world today where people can invest seven hours of their day into coming and watching a 50 or a one-day game at the stadium or investing that much time and watching a one-day game you know or at home, on the telly, today you do get apps as well. So, the viewership will drop, and I think the evolution after this FTP cycle should be to kind of slowly wean off one-day cricket and move towards T20 and perhaps T10 Cricket and that's where it should stop, it shouldn't get lesser than that."