To understand the strange case of cricket’s shrinking World Cup, consider one simple truth. The decision to cut the World Cup to 10 teams stems not from emerging nations losing too much, but from them winning when they were not supposed to.
On 17 March 2007, Ireland toppled Pakistan in Jamaica. On the same day, Bangladesh beat India in Trinidad & Tobago. Both Pakistan and India were knocked out in the first round of the World Cup. In Barbados a month later, the match advertised as India-Pakistan instead became Ireland against Bangladesh.
“Had that not happened, the 16-team World Cup would have become the norm,” one ICC insider later said. The Associates were punished for their own success. And…
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