In what could be his second-last appearance in front of the global media at this tournament, Afghanistan captain
Hashmatullah Shahidi put the onus on his board and the ICC to prioritise ODIs going forward. Afghanistan, currently placed sixth on eight points, will need to beat South Africa by a huge margin in their last league game on Friday in Ahmedabad and also hope Pakistan lose to England, to progress to the semi-finals
"Fifty-over cricket is also important," Shahidi said in Ahmedabad. "Right now, there are too many leagues, too much T20 cricket and I think 50-overs and Test cricket is more important. If we have those games, we will definitely improve more. We are expecting our cricket board and ICC to give us more matches for our improvement."
Despite his expectation, the discontinuance of the World Cup Super League means that Afghanistan are no longer guaranteed a series against the so-called bigger teams and the most recent version of the FTP shows a calendar that has become leaner. While they played
29 ODIs including series against West Indies, Sri Lanka and Pakistan between the end of the last World Cup and the start of this one (bear in mind that two-and-a-half of those years were severely affected by Covid-19 disruptions), they are scheduled to play 33 in the next cycle, but only six against teams in the top eight and none against Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa or Pakistan. Shahidi is hopeful that will change. "We have a cricket board and management and we are hoping they take a lot of series with other teams. There will be 50-over cricket. I am expecting that."
Whatever happens, Afghanistan can look forward to at least some ODI cricket in the not-too-distant future. They cannot finish lower than sixth at this World Cup, which guarantees them a spot at the Champions Trophy in 2025 and an opportunity to play against the other top seven teams in the format.
South Africa, their last group-stage opponents at this World Cup and fellow Champions Trophy qualifiers, also have questions over the relevance of the 50-over format, not least because they are due to co-host the next ODI World Cup in 2027 and have earmarked that tournament as theirs to win. They understand that in the four years between this tournament and the next, more T20 leagues, offering more money that Cricket South Africa (CSA) can match, are likely to crop up and players will inevitably be drawn to those at the expense of international cricket.