Cricket Must Adopt Football’s Four-Year World Cup Cadence, Says Ex-RCB Player

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Shreevats Goswami emphasizes that cricket should emulate football’s four‑year World Cup cycle.

• An excessive number of ICC tournaments from 2023 to 2027 is undermining the prestige of cricket’s flagship events.

• The biennial T20 World Cup erodes the sense of anticipation that gives the tournament its special allure.

Shreevats Goswami says cricket should borrow football’s biggest secret

Goswami, a former India international and a former teammate of Virat Kohli during his Royal Challengers Bangalore years and his India Under‑19 stint, identifies a key strength of football and questions why cricket cannot replicate it.

Cricket’s problem with overloading major ICC events

In cricket, this prestige is being steadily eroded. Between 2023 and 2027 alone, four World Cups are scheduled – two in the 50‑over format and two in the T20 format.

A T20 World Cup now occurs biennially, leaving fans little time to fully process one edition before the next qualification and preparation cycle begins.

“2026 FIFA wc’s been outstanding so far. One thing cricket could certainly learn from football is the value of “ anticipation “The FIFA World Cup comes around only once every four years,” he wrote on X.

The “wait” generates the excitement that makes the tournament feel special. In cricket, a World Cup every two years removes that anticipation. When events occur too frequently, they lose their exclusivity, and the sense of wonder diminishes.

Cricket needs to be honest about what it’s doing to its biggest ICC events

The 50‑over World Cup has maintained its four‑year cycle and still commands genuine reverence when it arrives.

The T20 World Cup, by contrast, has been on an accelerating schedule that has made it harder to feel the same level of gravitas before every edition.

Attendances, broadcast interest and social media engagement all spike harder for rarer events. The FIFA World Cup is proof of what genuine anticipation does to a sporting occasion.

Cricket does not need to replicate every aspect of football’s approach, but adopting the simple principle that restraint can enhance the value of its premier prizes is a sensible starting point.

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