Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, who is set to become the BCCI president, on Tuesday expressed his reservations over the ICC’s attempt to stage the 50-over World Cup every three years. The World Cup has traditionally been a quadrennial event since its first edition in 1975. However, the 1992 edition was held after a five-year gap and the 1999 edition after a three-year gap. “Sometimes less is more in life. So we have got to be careful with that. And the football World Cup happens every four years and you see the madness,” Ganguly told reporters at the Cricket Association of Bengal office here.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is planning to propose a Futures Tours Programme (FTP) in which T20 World Cup will be played every year and the 50-over World Cup once every three years.
“That’s a decision the ICC has to make I’m not in a position to talk or comment on it. As in when when I get an opportunity to be a part of the discussion, I will speak,” the former India captain said.
The 47-year-old however said back to back T20 World Cup is the way forward with the rising popularity of the shortest format.
“When Champions Trophy first came in, I played the tournament in 1998. I’ve captained two Champions Trophies getting to finals in both and being the joint winners in one so at that time it was a huge tournament. “But with the advent of T20, people come to the ground more than any other tournament. So I think that’s the reason ICC has changed it. The demands will change according to the situation and ICC will have to deal with it.” The atmosphere here on Tuesday was quite similar to when Ganguly had returned to Kolkata after scoring a debut Test century at Lord’s.
“1996 was 30 times bigger than this. And that will always be the most important day of my life when I first played a Test match for India. Nothing can beat that.
Ganguly said the cricket administration in the country is going through an emergency situation.
“It’s actually an emergency as I have said before and I’m happy to get the responsibility to turn it around. That’s what matters. When it’s tough people believe that you are good enough to do it. That’s my biggest responsibility.
