Robin predicts 50-over cricket's demise with rise of T10, T20 leagues

Former Indian batter Robin Uthappa thinks that the rise of T10 and T20 leagues around the world could lead to the obsolescence of 50-over cricket. 

He believes that the evolution of the sport is driven by viewership, and that fans today do not want to spend seven hours watching an ODI match. 

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"I think the game is evolving in that direction. But it’s also the viewership that dictates, what’s going to be more popular and what’s going to evolve, and what’s going to devolve. And it’s been a very natural process of evolution in that sense, which is why the T20 Cricket is coming to the fore," said the 37-year-old.

Uthappa, who is currently playing for Dubai Capitals in the ILT20 league in the UAE, predicts that franchise-based T20 leagues will continue to be popular, and that this could lead to the establishment of new T10 leagues, which would provide a platform for associate teams to play on.

 He also believes that after the conclusion of the current Future Tours Programme (FTP) cycle, ODI cricket may take a back seat and viewership will decrease.

"So, the viewership will drop," he elaborated. "I think the evolution after this FTP cycle should be to kind of slowly wean off one-day cricket and move towards T20 and perhaps T10 Cricket and that’s where it should stop, it shouldn’t get lesser than that."

 He suggests that the evolution of the sport should be focused on T20 and T10 cricket.