EXCLUSIVE: T20 cricket is future, ODIs will be confined only to World Cups in ten years – Eoin Morgan

The rise of T20 cricket might have put the remaining two formats under some stress, but former England Captain Eoin Morgan argues this is for the greater good. Speaking with Digvijay Singh Deo – Sports Editor of WION, in an exclusive chat, Morgan said never before this moment has this game been this popular around the world. Having plied his trade in almost every league, Morgan knows about the pros and cons of this latest format but remains firm in his opinion that the rise of franchise-based T20 leagues will only benefit this game.

While questions surrounding the slow death of Test cricket in the wake of the expansion of T20 leagues keep even the top bosses searching for answers, Morgan sees a positive side of it, saying what this format has done in helping cricket reach the masses outside of regular playing nations neither of the ODIs and Tests was able to do so.

"Cricket has never been more popular around the world. Cricket is spreading far and wide. T20 cricket has allowed cricket to grow at a pace that no other format has been able to achieve it. So, we need to sit back and thank T20 cricket and recognise it for taking it everywhere," Morgan said.

Expressing his thoughts on what happens to ODI cricket in the near future, Morgan dropped a bombshell revealing in ten years, ODI cricket will be confined only to 50-over World Cups, as players and boards will be inclined towards playing and hosting franchise-based T20 tournaments, respectively.

"The 50-over format is under pressure the most. The Future Tours Programme (FTP) is looking like there will be more T20 cricket played than bilateral; the game needs to change with that, and that's how it's going to go. You can't fight the exceptional growth and pace at which the game is becoming so popular. I think ODI Cricket is going to become, at some stage, most likely confined to just World Cups," Morgan added.

Heart goes out to Zimbabwe, West Indies

Following the end of the ICC World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe, two teams that sealed the remaining spots for the mega event were Sri Lanka and Scotland, thrashing former two-time champions West Indies and Zimbabwe out of the race. With disappointment luring in for both teams, Morgan - currently playing and captaining Harare Hurricane in Zimbabwe’s inaugural T10 league, shared his thoughts.

While he said having Zimbabwe in for the 2023 World Cup would have been great for them and cricket, for what they bring to the game, he was disappointed for the West Indies on not making the cut.

"Zimbabwe was devastated not to qualify for the World Cup, they were disappointed. On the flip side, watching West Indies cricket not qualify, given their reputation they had over the course of generations of producing legends of the game, is sad in many ways because the level of expectations has been there for a long time and the level of performance hasn't met that," Morgan added.

WATCH WION LIVE HERE: