The 10th edition of the 20-overs World Cup starts in eight days, but Sanjay Manjrekar reckons the tournament doesn’t carry the same importance or significance as the 50-overs World Cup. For Manjrekar, who was part of India’s World Cup campaigns in 1992 and 1996, appearing in 11 matches, there’s only one World Cup: the 50-overs one. The fact that the T20 World Cup takes place every two years, compared to the 50-overs World Cup every four, Manjrekar wants the T20 version to return to its original name.
“For me, the ‘Cricket World Cup’ will always be the 50 overs World Cup. The T20 version, held every two years, must not be given the same status as a World Cup that comes once every 4 years. I prefer the original name for it – The WorldT20,” Manjrekar posted on X.
Manjrekar’s remarks come at a time when the ODI format is facing an existential crisis. Now considered the least interesting of the three formats, with Tests and T20Is played more often, there is a belief that the 2027 World Cup in South Africa could well be the last ODI World Cup ever held. Despite the 2031 World Cup scheduled to take place in India and Bangladesh, five years is a long way to go.
When did World T20 become the T20 World Cup?
The term ‘World T20’ was used for the first six editions – 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016 – before the tournament was rechristened the T20 World Cup after the 2021 edition, held in the UAE after a five-year gap.
Manjrekar’s sentiment echoes Rohit Sharma’s, as the former India captain, despite winning the T20 World Cup, has always held the 50-overs World Cup in the highest regard. Which is perhaps why India’s loss to Australia in the 2023 World Cup final still stings. Under Rohit, India went on a marauding run of form, winning 10 games in a row and lighting up the entire country. October 2023 felt nothing short of a festival, but when India stumbled at the final hurdle, Rohit went almost a month without talking about it.
“I have always grown up watching the 50-over World Cup, and to me, that was the ultimate prize. We have worked all these years for that World Cup… and it is disappointing, right? If you don’t get through it, and you don’t get what you want, what you’ve been looking for all this while, what you were dreaming of, you get disappointed, and you get frustrated as well at times,” he said after a brief silence.
