R Ashwin on the World Cup: The year 2026 will be witnessing the T20 World Cup 2026 after India had a perfect end to 2025 in cricketing terms. Former Indian cricketer R. Ashwin slammed the International Cricket Council (ICC) for their scheduling of the T20 World Cup 2026. Ashwin stated that no one will watch the tournament, which will be held between February 7 and March 8 in India and Sri Lanka.
The former cricketer stated that early games featuring India against associate nations and stated that such matters can end up pulling away interest of people from the competition.
“No One Is Going To Watch”: R Ashwin On The World Cup
He also spoke about the large number of ICC events taking place one after the other and made a comparison to tournaments during his childhood, which used to take place once every four years.
In a recent video on his YouTube channel, R. Ashwin said,
“No one is going to watch the ICC T20 World Cup this time. India vs. USA, India vs. Namibia—these are games that will literally pull you away from the World Cup. World Cups used to happen once every four years. As a result, the interest is used to build. India used to play England or Sri Lanka in the first round, and that was a lot more fun.”
“Back in 1996, 1999, and 2003, when I was in school, the World Cup came once every four years. We collected World Cup cards, printed schedules, and waited for it. That anticipation used to build naturally.”
“Worried About The Future Of ODI”: R Ashwin
Earlier, Ashwin also made a prediction about the future of ODI cricket.
R. Ashwin said,
“I am not sure about the future of ODI after the 2027 World Cup. I am a little worried about it. Of course, I am following the Vijay Hazare Trophy, but the manner in which I followed the SMAT, I am finding it slightly difficult to follow,” Ashwin said.
“Look, Rohit and Virat came back to the Vijay Hazare Trophy, and people started watching it. We have known that sport is always bigger than individuals, but at times these players need to come back to make the game relevant. The Vijay Hazare Trophy, of course, is a domestic competition that not a lot of people follow, but they did because Kohli and Rohit were playing. Even then, what happens when they stop playing ODIs?”
Also Read : BCCI Asks KKR To Release Bangladesh Pacer Mustafizur Rahman Ahead Of IPL 2026
