From the traditional Test cricket to limited overs format, the game has not seen any major change except for introducing an additional format in the last 2 decades. The future of cricket will depend solely on how to maintain its popularity. The need for innovation and constant change in the game is the need of the hour. This article will explore the Predictions and Possibilities of changes in the game to make the game exciting and popular in the future.

Presented By: Raghunath Nair

Date: 11/07/2023

Introduction

Cricket, the Century old game from its colonial history, has been played the traditional way and surprisingly the cricket fans are used to the game played in its traditional format till now. While the men dominated the game of cricket for a long time, the T20 format introduced in the last decade, has helped women cricket to gain popularity which has helped in the overall growth of the game.

Current State of Cricket

Test Cricket, One Day Internationals and the T20 format are the three formats played in cricket at the international level.

The latest format, the T20 format has taken the sport to a new level and popularity of the game has taken a huge upswing.

T20 format allowed countries to play this format at a competitive level even when the team did not have the game to play the longer format.

This format allows the game to follow a similar franchise model sport which the American sports have been successful in.

Franchise Sports in the T20 Format has become very popular in almost all cricket playing nations and this has helped cricket to be played and watched by audience throughout the year.

Constant innovations are brought in the game especially in the shortest format as popularity of the format allows it to be bold enough to experiment with game friendly changes to make it more favourable for the audience.

The speed and efficiency of change is only going to increase in the coming years,

With the three formats, more and more teams have started building teams according to the format they play. With the style of play quite different in all the formats, Test Cricket and the T20 format looks like two separate sport, even though the principles of the game has not undergone any major change. It is still a simple game of Cricket.

A successful Test Player may not be successful in the other formats and vice versa as the game demands different skill sets from the same player. It will be rare feat in the near future to see player of a particular format playing or getting selected in another format.

While Test Cricket is all about preserving wickets, endurance and temperament, the shorter format is all about quick runs and attack focussed format.

Future of the Sports: Cricket Predictions and Possibilities

The T20 revolution

Test Cricket is only played by a handful of cricket-playing nation at the highest level. The 50 over format has lost lot of its fans to the shortest format in the recent times and empty stands for a One day international is proof of it. With the T20 format gaining huge popularity over the Test format, (if not already happened) it is just a matter of time when T20 format will be the most preferred format in cricket.

While this may result in the likely end of a certain format, cricket will need to move on to the popular formats if it needs to compete with other popular sports in the world

The T20 World cup will see additional teams participating in the mega event and this will help in globalizing the sport further.

With the growing participation of new countries into the T20 format, a 14 or 15 team world cup is a possibility in the near future

Bowlers will be faster as they can push the body for better results knowing that they have to bowl only for 4 overs unlike the workload expected in Test or ODI

Training will be different and the players may be trained like a 100 meter sprinter and not necessarily like a marathon runner

Similarly, Batsmen also will be heavily built to hit the quick 30s and 40s and be strong enough to clear the boundary with ease as temperament and long hours on the wicket will be absent in the game.

While Cricket is yet to make it to the Olympics, T20 will be cricket’s gateway to the Olympics especially as the game is short and quick and accommodate high number of teams which was absent earlier.

Asia Cup and Commonwealth games have introduced T20 in their list of games

Cricket will evolve drastically in the coming years to compete with other global sports as Cricket for a long time has been termed a colonial sport and need to be positioned amongst global sport especially with its current popularity.

The game will evolve as a spectator sport and changes in the format, technology used will improve drastically along with change of rules making the game faster and more exciting.

The One Day International (ODI) format may undergo a drastic change as the current form of ODI is rapidly losing its fan base and boring at times even for the fans of the game.

The greatest ODI player in the history of the game, Sachin Tendulkar also had suggested that the One-day Internationals will be difficult to coexist with the T20 format and will need drastic change in the rules. One of his suggestions was to spilt the game into two innings and play it like a shortened format of the test.

SuperSports team believe that the above change can threaten Test Cricket.

Due to the colonial mindset, change is not easy to be accepted in the game of cricket and while T20 format was successful and an exception to this rule, ICC may have to be bold in their decision making if ODI survives in the long run.

Like Football, league cricket like the IPL, Big Bash and other franchise T20 tournaments will take precedence over international games and international games will be restricted to World Cup. this also means, the death of Test cricket and more T20 games in the long run

Games to be shorter is a clear need of the hour. The average family would like to have a 3–4-hour game which can be enjoyed by the entire family together.

Changes in rules of Cricket

Rules have been tweaked in the recent past to accommodate the changing needs of the game. This is unusual as the game was always played in a traditional manner. But with time, cricket has undergone change to accommodate the growing need. Rules like Impact player was introduced in the recently concluded Indian Premier League 2023 and many rules especially in the shorter format may be brought to keep the audience glued to the television set.

The laws of the game also may undergo change to avoid the monotony in the game. The mode of dismissal or the run scoring methodology may also see some change

ICC will need to keep a close eye on other field sports especially European sports to see if they can adopt certain rules from their game.

Some Future Improvements to improve viewing Experience

• Communication with fielders and coach in the game
• Real time Tv replays for onfield umpires
• Online streaming
• Collapsible or Retractable roofs / Indoor stadium
• Dew Proof grounds
• High Resolution Multiple cameras. For a football match, there are multiple angles shown to the spectators. This currently outnumbers the use of cameras in cricket and Cricket will need to invest a lot of money to engage their fans in the game as much as possible. This will be far more exciting to watch.
• Electronic line sensors for no ball, wide etc
• Better cricket gears
• Smart balls and bat with modern day sensors will accurately record and measure the game in live mode.
• Use of Artificial Intelligence during the game and during practice
• The use of VR technology will help a person with the VR Kit to be in the thick of action as he is part of the game. This will help an increase in audience who would get the thrill of live action.

Conclusion

T20 cricket or even shorter format may dominate world cricket. The popularity of the sport solely depends on growing fan base and  with better viewership experience for the fans.

Women’s cricket’s popularity in the lst decade has helped the game to grow and the sport has added the additional glamour it desperately needed.

SuperSports View:  In the long run, women’s cricket may outdo the men’s cricket in popularity and viewership as the participation of women’s team will outnumber the men’s team

Technology will improve drastically and the game may see the use of technology in more areas than what is used today. With the speed in technological advancement, the improvement in the game with the help of technology is difficult to fathom.

Quality of the gears will improve which will improve the game immensely. In baseball there are mitts used by fielders can be something cricket may adopt.

The game will be accessible to all and a highly lucrative business which will allow youngsters to build career in the sport.