Calling the Int'l Cricket Council's decision to reduce the number of teams in the 2019 World Cup "a backward step", former India captain Sachin Tendulkar said that "such a move is unfair to the Associate nations," according to the PTI.
While the ICC "wants to curtail the number of teams participating from 14 to 10," Tendulkar told an audience at an exclusive dinner that the governing body "should instead be exploring ways to expand the next tournament to as many as 25 teams." He said,
"I found out the next World Cup would only be 10 teams. Which is slightly disappointing because as a cricketer I want the game to be globalized as much as possible and, according to me, this is a backwards step." Tendulkar felt Test nations "should regularly play their 'A' sides against Associates to provide a 'fair platform' for smaller cricketing countries." He said, "We've got to find ways of encouraging the lesser teams." Tendulkar "was not on the same page" as ICC CEO David Richardson, who has "defended the planned reduction" (PTI, 3/4).
