ODIs will remain relevant because World Cup is Olympics of cricket: Steve Waugh

Mint

23-04-2025

Madrid, Apr 23 (PTI) At a time when the relevance of ODIs has become a topic of debate, former Australian captain Steve Waugh has batted for the format, saying that it would never lose significance as the quadrennial World Cup is akin to the "Olympics of cricket".
In an interaction with select media on the sidelines of the Laureus World Sports awards here, Waugh said despite the pressure of shorter formats, ODIs are holding ground as was evident from the record viewership garnered by the 2023 World Cup.
"Everyone seems to think one-day cricket's not going to survive, but then you have the World Cup and it's huge and the ratings are massive and people love it and fall back in love with the game. Then it dies down for a couple years and we go through the same scenario," Waugh said.
"So right now, somehow we're managing to fit three formats of the game in and there's pressure of T10 maybe coming in, so could be four, four formats of cricket. I don't know how that's all going to get managed, but right now it seems to be going okay.
"World Cup is significant for one-day cricket. It's pretty much the Olympics, to play (the World Cup) every four years," he added.
Cricket will have its share of spotlight in the actual Olympics as well when it makes a comeback to the Games after more than 100 years in the 2028 Los Angles edition.
Waugh also offered his views on other issues concerning international cricket right now, including the obvious Indian dominance in the administration of the sport and the revenue sharing arrangement that favours big Test-playing nations.
A recent study by the World Cricketers Association (WCA) claimed that the BCCI currently receives 38.5 per cent of the global cricket revenue, and recommended the figure be brought down to 10 per cent to ensure fairer distribution.
Calling for equal pay for all Test players regardless of nationality, Waugh said: "If you play a Test match, every player who plays a Test match should have equal pay.
"No one listened to me, but I said that in 1999 in an article, that every Test match player should get paid the same. You play a Test match, the fee should be exactly the same," added the 59-year-old.
The report also highlighted the congested international schedule, with overlapping bilateral and domestic leagues making it difficult to manage player workload and team commitments.
When pointed out that only the IPL has a designated window, Waugh was candid: "BCCI runs world cricket, that's why they have their own window. Simple."
Bumrah among best but unfair to compare others with him
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Among players, Waugh hailed Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah as one of the finest pacers of modern era, but said it would be unfair to assess other Indian fast bowlers using the same yardstick.
"Bumrah obviously is one of the best bowlers of this modern era, if not of all time. it's very hard when you're judging the other players on him because he's at the elite level. But India have got plenty of backup and plenty of quick bowlers," he felt.
Bumrah has led India's pace attack almost single-handedly for quite a while and remains one of the most feared bowlers across formats. However, frequent injury concerns have plagued his career in recent times.
The 31-year-old was India's standout performer during the four-match Test series in Australia, which the visitors lost 1-3.
"There's plenty of Indian bowlers out there. Obviously, Bumrah had a great series (in Australia). (Mohammed) Siraj did pretty well and some of the young guys coming through," he said.
With Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the twilight of their international careers, both are eyeing the 2027 ODI World Cup as their swansong. The duo has already announced their retirement from T20Is.
Waugh said their participation will depend on "form, fitness and motivation".
"I'm not sure. I mean I don't follow their careers that closely but they've both been incredible cricketers for India," the former skipper said when asked if he sees them playing a role in the 2027 edition.
"Every career has got to end at some stage. They've both been outstanding and they're still world-class players now but lots of things coming up.
"Form, fitness, whether you're motivated to keep playing, there's a lot of pressure playing for India. No doubt if all those things align and they're still keen and willing to improve then they can make it but there's no guarantees for anyone in sport."
First Published: 23 Apr 2025, 07:22 PM IST