The International Cricket Council is facing heavy criticism over the pre-seeding method used in the Super Eight round of the ongoing T20 World Cup. Many people are of the opinion that it kills the incentive that a team gets if it wins all its matches and finishes on top in the group stage.
Pre-Seeding: The Argument
To add to that, people also don’t like the fact that all four teams that topped their respective groups have been put in one group in the next round, while the teams that have finished second have been stacked in the other.
Pre-Seeding: The Take
Amidst the criticism, former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar does not mince his words while slamming the people who had a lot to say about the pre-seeding rule. While talking to India Today, Gavaskar said, “Why bring this up now? Why was this not brought up before the start of the tournament? Those are the questions that need to be asked of the people who are raising these points now. The reason that I can think of, maybe the ICC can explain it better, is that the logistics, the tournament is being played in two countries.”
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Pre-Seeding: The Rule
According to the pre-seeding rule used by the ICC, certain teams that have higher chances of qualifying for the Super Eight as compared to others are given pre-decided positions in the points table before the start of the next round.
For instance, India, which is the co-host of the tournament, has been awarded the top position in the points table for group one in the Super Eight, which comprises Zimbabwe, South Africa and West Indies, all of whom finished on top in their groups coincidentally. In addition to that, Australia, who were assumed to qualify for the next round, failed to do so and were replaced by Zimbabwe in group one.
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Pre-Seeding: The Reason
One of the major reasons why the pre-seeding format, which was used till 2012, was brought back in the 2024 edition was to reduce the logistical complexities that organisers face, especially while planning for a 20-team tournament, and that’s exactly what Gavaskar reiterated.
In the words of the former opening batter, “There’s international travel, there’s immigration, and there’s customs, all those things to be taken care of. There is still the question of airline and hotel bookings; not every team travels with the same number of people. Some teams travel with a support staff team of 15, so maybe they need 35-40 rooms. Some teams may travel with 20-22 people altogether, so they may need fewer rooms. All these things need to be taken into account, and perhaps this is the reason why the pre-seeding took place.”