Pakistan's white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten has expressed concern over the scheduling of ICC's marquee tournaments as he feels that having a World Cup every year "could be dangerous" for the game.
Speaking to talkSport, Kirsten mentioned that World Cups and other marquee ICC tournaments should serve as appetizers for the sport and not be scheduled one after the other as it may lead to a loss in interest.
"Sometimes I do get concerned about the lack of context in many games. But does it mean we need to have an ICC event every year? No, I think it could be dangerous to have a World Cup every year or other year because it's always fun waiting for those events to come around," said Kirsten.
Notably, the ICC has failed to maintain a decent gap in the scheduling of its marquee tournaments lately.
It started in the year 2021 when the UAE hosted the seventh edition of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup. Australia reigned supreme and clinched their maiden Men's T20 World Cup title as they defeated their Trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand in the summit clash by eight wickets.
However, the Kangaroos were tasked to defend their title in less than 12 months when the tournament was played again in October and November down under.
The year 2023 saw the conduct of the ODI World Cup. The tournament was hosted by India in October and November across 10 cities.
The final was played on November 19 and in less than seven months the international cricket governing body is going to conduct another World Cup in the 20-over format in the USA and the Caribbean.
Kirsten also seemed worried by how Test cricket is losing its sheen rapidly and that the top Test-playing nations like South Africa are not involved much in the format.
"And we've got to be really careful we don't lose Test cricket. Having Test-playing nations like South Africa playing four Tests a year worries me deeply - to think Test cricket is not so important anymore."
