England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief executive Richard Gould has welcomed Shubman Gill’s suggestion that triangular and multi-team tournaments could help inject fresh interest into 50-over cricket.
Gill recently backed the ICC’s decision to retain the traditional 50-over format, arguing that the ODI World Cup remains the game’s premier global event. Rather than reducing matches from 50 to 40 overs, the India captain believes cricket authorities should explore formats that bring greater variety to the bilateral-heavy ODI calendar.
“I grew up watching 50-over cricket a lot, and it remained an integral part of my childhood,” Gill said ahead of the first ODI in Birmingham against England. “When I think about the World Cup, the first thought that comes to mind is the 50-over World Cup. For me, the 50-over World Cup is the most prestigious World Cup. I don’t think it should be changed to 40 overs.”
The Indian captain also looked back fondly on the triangular tournaments that were regularly played during his childhood, particularly those involving India, Australia and Sri Lanka.
“One thing is that we used to play a lot of triangular series and it was really fun to watch. India, Australia and Sri Lanka used to play those tournaments,” he said.
Gill believes bringing such competitions back could offer both players and supporters something different from conventional bilateral contests.
“If I ever get a chance to play in a triangular series, it will be fun because you are not playing one team continuously. If we want to make this format more interesting, instead of having bilateral series, we can have triangular or quadrangular series. That’ll be interesting to play and to watch.”
ECB Open To More Tri-Series
Gould, meanwhile, has indicated that multi-team tournaments remain a possibility within international cricket’s increasingly congested schedule. According to Dainik Jagran, the ECB chief acknowledged that there is scope for tri-series while pointing out that England’s scheduling priorities currently favour formats that can be accommodated without extending the calendar too significantly.
Several multi-team tournaments have already appeared in the ICC Future Tours Programme for the 2023-27 cycle.
Pakistan hosted a tri-series involving New Zealand and South Africa in February 2025 ahead of the Champions Trophy. Another T20I tri-series is scheduled in Windhoek during August-September 2026, featuring hosts Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Pakistan are also scheduled to host another tri-nation tournament in October 2026, further demonstrating that the format has not disappeared entirely from international cricket.
The return of more tri-series could offer ODI cricket a fresh competitive edge. Unlike bilateral contests, teams must adapt to multiple opponents and changing tactical challenges within the same tournament.
However, fitting more competitions into an already packed international calendar remains the biggest obstacle. Any revival would need to be carefully balanced against bilateral commitments, franchise leagues and player workload.
Gill’s proposal has nevertheless opened an interesting discussion about how ODI cricket can regain some of its traditional appeal without altering its 50-over identity.
Debayan Bhattacharyya is a seasoned sports journalist and digital media professional, currently serving as the Chief Sub Editor at ITV Digital (NewsX). A true Football-Fanatic Bong, his professional journey began at Zee Media, where he kicked off his career as a Sub-Editor for the sports team at India.com and CricketCountry. His ability to blend insightful analysis with rapid-fire news delivery soon led him to Times Network, where he served as a Senior Copy Editor for Times Now. Before his current role at NewsX, Debayan spent a significant tenure at OneIndia’s MyKhel as a Senior Sub Editor.