A Champions Trophy void of speedsters

Kolkata: The Champions Trophy is just around the corner, but it seems like fate has already decided the fate of some key players before the tournament even begins. With the absence of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and now Mitchell Starc, it looks like Australia will be missing their frontline fast bowlers for the first time in ICC tournament history. South Africa is also facing challenges with Anrich Nortje nursing a back injury. Additionally, Jasprit Bumrah is ruled out as well, leading to a decrease in excitement and anticipation for the tournament even before it kicks off on February 19.

Why has it happened? Revived eight years after the last edition amid the increased frenzy of T20 leagues, Champions Trophy looks clearly devalued in comparison to the other ICC events. It is a shame because in 1998 it was launched as a ground-breaking knockout tournament between the top eight Test teams. Held at one venue in a short burst, all to generate funds for the cash-strapped apex board, the then ICC Knock Out Trophy generated $20 million in revenue at one go. The current cycle of IPL TV and digital rights was sold at $13.77 million per match.

Is it surprising then to have the world’s premier fast bowlers pull out of a tournament that precedes IPL by just 11 days? Cummins is leading Sunrisers Hyderabad, Starc is turning out for Delhi Capitals, Hazlewood for Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Nortje for Kolkata Knight Riders. Barring 2023, Mumbai Indians spearhead Bumrah has never missed an IPL season. International cricket’s primacy is no longer taken for granted the way it was before 2008. With T20 leagues mushrooming every year, and cricketers forced to pick and choose tours to extend their longevity, one-day cricket is inevitably losing ground.

The scheduling too isn’t ideal. Australia are coming off a long season that involved a home Test series against India and then toured Sri Lanka. Starc, who was reportedly in some discomfort during the second Test in Galle, hasn’t specified a reason behind his pulling out. Bumrah’s workload is unreal, having featured in nine of the 10 Tests India have played since September. To slot a tournament like Champions Trophy just before IPL thus was always a risky move.

That too when there exists an informal arrangement by which various IPL stakeholders had to be apprised of the status of players. Naturally, fast bowlers’ workloads are the most intensely scrutinised of them. The pacers too have begun to understand what’s best for them. Those who make the Test cut are trying to stay loyal to the format. To supplement that with a healthy dose of franchise league money is a logical arrangement. Moreover, unlike ODIs, T20’s brevity and the introduction of super-subs in IPL allow for longer recovery time between matches. To jeopardise that for the sake of a few ODIs is a no-brainer these days.

Which also points to a deeper apathy towards the format, underscored recently by the sudden ODI retirement of allrounder Marcus Stoinis. Not much has come by way of explanation but at least Australia assistant coach Daniel Vettori admitted to Stoinis “trying to map out how one-day cricket was going for him” considering he had played just one ODI since the 2023 World Cup, where he didn’t get to play in the final at Ahmedabad. Quite understandably, Stoinis couldn’t see a future in the format. Many more might follow suit, given how cricket is increasingly becoming a two-format game.

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