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Former Indian player and head coach Ravi Shastri is not ruling out the wild concept of bilateral series being played between franchises, thus combining both aspects of modern cricket.
The sport is barrelling towards a testing phase, where international cricket will face a trial by fire against the rising stature of franchise cricket. The magnitude at which these leagues occupy the cricketing calendar risks international cricket from becoming obsolete, particularly the 50-over format.
Stating that the wild idea of franchises playing bilateral series could be witnessed in the future, Shastri said on ESPNcricinfo's RunOrder:
"Bilateral franchise series can happen, it could be a case of MI playing KKR in the US. It could well happen."
Reiterating the fact that cricket will soon take the football route in terms of franchise cricket having a grip over international cricket, Shastri said:
"I have always said that the bilateral cricket will suffer, there's no question about that, with the leagues spreading around the world, it is going to go the football way for sure. The national teams will assemble just before a big World Cup. The clubs will release players now for international duty. It is going to go that way in the long run, whether you like it or not."
The current football model witnesses clubs partaking in various competitions and are released for international duty only for qualifiers and the eventual tournaments, which are held in a dedicated window after the club season has concluded.
"I'll add another format that will replace the 50-over format and that is T10" - Tom Moody on how international cricket can survive hand-in-hand with franchise cricket
Former Australian player and coach Tom Moody also believes that international cricket will suffer greatly with the growth of leagues around the globe.
Suggesting that international cricket should adopt the T10 format in place of ODI cricket in the near future, Moody said:
"The reality tells me that there's only going to be a few countries that are going to be playing Test cricket and a small window of Test cricket throughout the pockets of the calendar year will be the norm. The rest are going to focus on white ball cricket. I'll add another format that will replace the 50-over format and that is T10."
Also suggesting that the Big Bash League (BBL) and the Hundred, who have not privatized their teams as of yet, should join forces to combat the IPL owners' reach, Moody said:
"As soon as BBL and Hundred franchises are on the market, the IPL owners will be right there. I think the smart play there is for both countries Australia and England to join up their properties. For instance, Sydney Sixers and London Spirit, that is one property."
How will cricket be shaped in the coming years? Let us know what you think.
