TimesofIndia.com in Durban: At a time when off-field matters take center stage, a month before the start of the Men’s T20 World Cup, former Indian cricketer Robin Uthappa has brought attention back to the game. On the sidelines of his commentary stint at the ongoing SA20, Uthappa questioned the need to host an ICC tournament every year and claimed that the novelty of multi-nation events was wearing off. “I think the game needs to evolve from an administrative point of view. How much value do fans and spectators place on an ICC tournament every year? The novelty of it is wearing off, to be completely honest and with all due respect,” Uthappa said.
ODI World Cup in 2023, T20 World Cup in 2024, Champions Trophy in 2025 and now back to the T20 World Cup starting on February 7th. There is a men’s multi-nation event every year and Uthappa felt there was a need to rethink the scheduling to ensure that the “novelty” of the tournaments remained intact. “I think the novelty of the ICC Championships has to be there. It’s an integral part, not just for the players but also for the fans, also for the spectators. It has to mean something.Uthappa is a commentator for the ongoing fourth edition of the SA20 and a visit to Durban for the contest between Durban’s Super Giants and Pretoria Capitals brought back memories of the 2007 T20 World Cup bowl match against Pakistan. “Durbin brings back a lot of memories. I keep going back to 2007. Every time I come here, I look at the locker room on the other side and just think about all the wonderful things we’ve done here, the wonderful memories we’ve created here.” It was. “It was a special time,” Uthappa said.The former India batsman was one of the players who took part in the bowl-out and hit the target with confidence. India ended up winning the tie-breaker and also the group stage game against arch-rivals Pakistan.“I was on the pitch today to have a look before the pitch report and of course to remember the time when I actually bowled there. It was definitely a lot of fun. We did a lot of preparation for it, which we don’t really talk about, but I think we were better prepared than the opposing team that night,” he recalls.
