JOIN USKumble bats for two-year cycle
“Ideally, we must have a two-year programme in place to determine the World champion status,” Kumble told Deccan Herald on Tuesday. “The way things are, there is every chance that next month, South Africa could again become the number one team in the world. A team has become number one because it has been consistently good for a period of time. It must be allowed to celebrate and to savour that achievement.
“To me, it makes sense to officially announce the ranking every two years. Everything can then start afresh once that two-year cycle is over. There must be a trophy for the team that grabs the number one spot, because getting to the top position is a tremendous accomplishment which needs to be recognised and rewarded,” he added. “The points system will have to be made simpler, with points for wins as well as draws so that every game is worthwhile and meaningful.”
India’s stirring triumph in the World T20 in South Africa in 2007 gave Twenty20 cricket a massive boost in the country. Asked if the administrators would use the number one ranking to raise the profile of Test cricket in India, Kumble replied, “I would hope so. Unfortunately, at the moment we have just two Tests lined up in the next 10 months. That’s a bit of a shame, it makes it impossible for India to defend their number one ranking because unless you play matches, you can’t pick up points.”