The ODI Super League 2023 was introduced in October 2018 to improve One Day cricket standards and acted as a qualification for the Cricket World Cup. The experiment was scheduled from May 2020 to May 2023 for the 2023 edition of the 50-over World event. But in late 2021, the ICC reversed their decision and scrapped the WCSL.
The WCSL had suffered losses and cancellation of the series due to Covid-19, the rise of so many T20 leagues and other circumstances. All the series in the ODI Super League 2023 were not even completed. It marked the question of whether this experiment was needed.
We need to look at the factors and determine whether this experiment started by the ICC was either a success or a failure. Why have they removed it if this was a success? And most importantly, what would be the future of One Day cricket?
A Brief Review of the ODI Super League 2023
The tournament saw 13 teams competing in the event; 12 Test-playing nations and one associated nation who were the Netherlands. Each side took part in as many as eight series over this time period. The top seven plus the hosts would qualify for the main tournament while the bottom three would play the Qualifiers.
India, who are the hosts for the 2023 edition, already qualified for the world cup before it even began. The next seven qualified were Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, current title holders England, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa.
The bottom five, including two-time champions West Indies and 1996 winners Sri Lanka, will play the Qualifiers, which will be played from 18 June to 9 July in Zimbabwe this year.
EXPLAINER: How does the ODI World Cup Super League work?
ODI Super League 2023: a Success or a Failure?
The series that were vanished
As already mentioned, not all series that were scheduled were completed. Afghanistan, Australia, India, Pakistan and South Africa have cancelled some of their series. Afghanistan is the centre here as they were to play a series against Australia, India and Pakistan.
| Teams who completed their WCSL series | Teams who did not complete their WCSL series |
| Bangladesh | Afghanistan – 3 (vs AUS, vs IND, vs PAK) |
| England | Australia – 2 (vs AFG, vs SA) |
| Ireland | India – 1 (vs AFG) |
| Netherlands | Pakistan – 1 (vs AFG) |
| New Zealand | South Africa – 1 (vs AUS) |
| Sri Lanka | |
| West Indies | |
| Zimbabwe |
The IND-AFG games were never scheduled while the AFG-PAK games were cancelled as, according to PCB Chairman Najam Sethi, the series ‘won’t make a difference’ since both had qualified for the mega competition.
As for the AUS-AFG series, Cricket Australia (CA) had cancelled theirs due to the interference of politics in Afghanistan since the Taliban took over. The SA-AUS matches were also cancelled by the CSA board, citing a new schedule for T20 Manzi Super League.
Were there supporters for this experiment?
Yes, especially from the associated nations and teams like Zimbabwe and Ireland. It meant that they will be given more opportunities to play games against top-ranked sides. Even South Africa’s spin bowler Keshav Maharaj showed support.
“I think it’s a good system. You’ve got to play your best team at all times. I’m in favour of it”
The only issue with this experiment, despite its support, was that one country could play only three games per series. And looking at the three-year time period, there are countries that played One Day matches outside of WCSL.
Such as India, who played the exact number of One Day games outside of their WCSL cycle. Australia with 11 and England with nine. With the cycle made as a pathway for the CWC 2023, this was labelled as a “meaningless series” by some fans.
And because of the abrupt number of 50-over matches played outside of the WCSL structure, the ICC decided to scrap the tryout. This left some unhappy with the decision, especially from the Netherlands’ camp. Their coach Ryan Campbell was disappointed and criticised ICC’s decision which he felt that it hurt the game’s growth among Associate nations.
What’s the Future for ODIs after the End of ODI Super League 2023?
Things are going to take some drastic turn. The end of the ODI Super League 2023 means that the qualification for the main event will go back to the format’s rankings. With the 50-over championship now back to a 14-team competition, the qualification path will depend on the rankings where the top 10 will directly qualify. The bottom will continue in the qualifiers.
With the rise of T20 leagues around the world and teams preferring to play more Twenty20 cricket, the prestigious white-ball 50-over format could find itself under more dark clouds. There is uncertainty about the format, with some suggesting it cease to exist or shortened it further. Regardless, the 50-over championship competition still holds a rich history and for a fewer time, it is not going anywhere.
