The era of "randomly scheduled" bilateral cricket series "has to come to an end," ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta has said, even as he backed the much-debated ODI format to survive and thrive going forward, given its place is "inextricably" tied to the World Cup.
"The era of randomly scheduled bilateral series has to come to an end, because countries will not be able to sustain cricket without context, culture, competition and competitiveness, which require significant investment of resources, both financial and non-financial," Gupta, who became the ICC CEO in July 2025, told PTI.
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"It's important to stay focused on the four levers which drive attention and affiliation - context, culture, competition and competitiveness - and ODIs can continue not just to survive, but thrive," he added.
The future of the 50-over format has been a subject of intense debate over the past few years, with the rise of multiple T20 leagues worldwide adding pressure, even as Test cricket has found renewed context and interest through the World Test Championship (WTC), introduced in 2019, where each two-year cycle culminates in a final crowning the Test champion.
"There is a place for the format in the product portfolio, which is inextricably linked to men's and women's World Cups. We need to look at what we want the format to stand for and how we want it to evolve, including the expanse of participation," he concluded.
For ODIs, the latest milestone came with the 5,000th match of the format being played recently, between Scotland and Canada in Dundee. The format's next big date on the calendar is the 2027 ICC ODI World Cup, set to be jointly hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia in October-November that year.
The ICC recently redesigned the 14-team competition after its annual conference in Edinburgh, Scotland, adding a Super Series round before the group stages and a new Super 7 stage before the semi-finals.
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The 12th, 13th, and 14th-ranked qualifying teams will compete in a tri-series, with only one advancing to the tournament's main round. This change has drawn harsh criticism this week from two European Associate nations, Cricket Scotland and the Netherlands Cricket Board (KNCB).
The 2027 edition will also mark the first ICC event of the next Future Tours Programme (FTP) cycle, spanning 2027-2031, which governs bilateral series between member boards.
A new media rights cycle will also be introduced by the following phase, which is scheduled to be agreed at the ICC's meetings in Hong Kong later this year. The current men's FTP is expected to expire in April 2027.
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