T20 World Cup on course to become the most important ICC event, reveals player survey

Bridgetown: A player survey has revealed that the T20 World Cup is closing the gap in the race to become the "most important" ICC event to players around the world, marking a shift from the dominance of the ODI World Cup.

According to a survey conducted by the World Cricketers Association (WCA), formerly FICA, an overwhelming 85 percent of players viewed the 50-over World Cup as the most important in 2019, compared to 15 per cent for the T20 World Cup.

In 2024 however, those figures have changed with 50 percent of the players considering the ODI showpiece as the most important and 35 percent favouring its T20 equivalent.

The ongoing edition of the T20 World Cup, jointly hosted by the USA and West Indies, will conclude with the title clash between India and South Africa in Barbados on Saturday.

As per the survey done by the re-branded body, for players under 26, the inclination towards the T20 World Cup rose significantly, with 41 percent preferring it over the 50-over World Cup at 49 percent in 2024.

Overall, there has been a sharp increase in the popularity of the T20 format. Compared to 2019 when 82 percent of players picked Test cricket as the most important format, it's only 48 percent right now.

As many as 30 percent of the players picked T20 as the most important format.

Players from India, Pakistan and Afghanistan are among those who are not represented by the WCA since they are not unionised.

Responses were sought from players of other major cricket nations, including Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa, Bangladesh and West Indies.

According to the WCA, the sample size for this year's survey was around 330 professional players from 13 different countries, with the majority of them being current internationals.

There is a higher proportion of female respondents in 2024.

In the current edition of the T20 World Cup, the much-awaited clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan garnered a staggering 256 million viewing hours in India alone.