Should the ICC continue to include associate nations in global events?

The 2021 edition of the Men’s T20 World Cup saw 16 teams compete against each other, out of which five were associate nations. The 2022 edition will see 16 as well, but the ICC has announced that the 2024 edition will see 20 teams. Now adding more associate nations may mean some dull and one-sided affairs, but should the ICC do it? The simple answer is yes.

The associate flavour

In the past, ICC had taken major steps to grow the game across the globe by giving more chances to associate nations on the world stage. In 2007, the 50-overs World Cup had 16 teams, but by the 2019 edition, there were only 10 while the 2023 edition is going to have the same number of teams. Isn’t that a step in the wrong direction? Well, yes and no.

Yes, because adding more associate nations adds a bit more spice to the tournament even though it can also hamper the percentage of close games. However, in hindsight, the reduction of teams makes more sense now, as the ICC seem to have identified that the T20 format is the best way to grow the game in different parts of the world.

They arrived on the big stage with the intent of inspiring a nation.

Namibia won a lot of hearts at their first #T20WorldCup 🙌 pic.twitter.com/kkESaJJpRn

— ICC (@ICC) November 9, 2021

For example, Namibia’s qualification into the main round this year has brought back a community of cricket fans to the television screens once again. Then, there is Papua New Guinea, who have incredible talent and a local community that loves the sport and could potentially be more engaged after seeing their team this year.

For the longest, cricket was played like a ‘members only’ sport. The diversification of cricket has allowed us to see the rise of Afghanistan, a country which despite being in a hostile political atmosphere managed to gain Test status in less than a decade. If opportunities are given to some other countries, we might see PNG or Namibia become a Test-playing nation in the next decade. But, for that, it is very important for their national teams to compete at the highest level, face quality teams, play on challenging surfaces and eventually get better.

Time to go global

Today, cricket is known as the second-largest consumed sport after football and that is large because of the consumption of the sport in the sub-continent. But, the true growth of the sport is only possible if the ICC events keep growing and adding teams from time to time. The football World Cup in the past 50 years has seen an expansion, from 16 to 24 to 32 and now the 2024 edition will see 48 teams.

The growth of the sport across the globe can be attributed to this. Cricket can take a leaf out of its book, and it seems ICC has already identified the T20 World Cup as the best way to spread the game. The best way to engage more fans from more diverse regions is if they get a team to support when an ICC event is played.