Gavaskar, Laxman criticise World Cup format

The ex-players were against making the showpiece event a 14-team affair with the inclusion of the likes of Afghanistan and Scotland

Legendary players Sunil Gavaskar and VVS Laxman have lambasted the format of the upcoming Cricket World Cup, saying that the inclusion of the ICC Associate members could reduce the intensity of competition.

Gavaskar and Laxman said making the showpiece event a 14-team affair with the inclusion of the likes of Afghanistan and Scotland would significantly diminish the level of competition in the league stage. They said the format also does not offer competitive games till the quarterfinal stage.

Stating that the World Cup should be competed among 10 teams only, Gavaskar said, "The top eight teams according to the ICC rankings should automatically qualify. The last two berths should be fought between the other teams a year before the main event. And then 10 top teams playing against each other is the best way to go about it."

The former India skipper said while upsets are always on the cards, "stage fright" could be counterproductive for minnows, who are developing their international competency.

"Although it can be a good opportunity for the "minnows" to be there on the big stage, but how much does that help, I don't know. You can actually lose badly because of the pressure of playing on the big stage and that doesn't get you anywhere," Gavaskar told NDTV.

"Instead there should be a consistent development programme where you get to play the big teams, rather than having a one-off World Cup competition," he explained.

Laxman agreed with Gavaskar and said, "You want each and every game to be competitive. 10 best teams competing against each other would have made the league stage also interesting."

"In a high-profile tournament like World Cup there will be a lot of viewers, a lot of spectators at the ground who come from around the world to watch competitive games. You want each and every game to be competitive. It is never good to have easy league stage for the top teams," the former India batsman said.

"Yes, you have to encourage the Associate members. I think the 1992 format (with nine teams) was excellent. Probably 10 teams would be ideal and you can play against all of them and qualify for the knockout stage," he added.