Richard Hadlee

Melbourne: Legendary all-rounder Sir Richard Hadlee has hit out at the International Cricket Council (ICC) for “betraying the game of cricket” by putting the interest of India, who are the largest generator of revenue, ahead of the sport itself.

Hadlee was particularly worried for the future of Test cricket, saying the growth of Twenty20 and the huge financial lures for players from the Indian Premier League (IPL) meant the ICC needed to exercise its authority more.

“We are in grave danger of having the decision makers betraying the game of cricket,” said Hadlee, during a nationwide tour to promote his latest book Changing Pace, which summarises his last nine years of research on cricket, thought and experience.

“We all know now that Asia, and more particularly India, have a more powerful say (in the ICC) because they generate a higher percentage of revenue, which other countries benefit from. So, who protects the game? The decision makers in the ICC have to try and control it so that all the games can co-exist,” he said.

The 58-year-old former cricketer felt excessive amount of T20 poses danger of overkill and compromises the viewership of other formats.

“Everything evolves and things keep changing, but this is a revolution within the game of cricket. It’s new, marketable, successful and brings in huge money. The danger is overkill, that you have too much of it, and it swamps other forms of the game and compromises them,” Hadlee said.

“If one format consumes the game as much as it is doing now — and potentially in the future — it is destroying the game of cricket as a total concept.”

Hadlee said if the IPL expands from 56 games to more than 90 and its playing window increases from six to eight weeks, it would be counter productive to international cricket.

“If you have a world body like the ICC — as you do with the International Olympic Committee or Fifa — they must have the power and the right to control and manage the game. That’s important for the game’s existence, its survival and its future. It can’t be undermined by a country, or some countries. Once country interests are being protected, it becomes a destructive element and you have anarchy. There is potential for real chaos,” he warned.