World Cup likely to be shortened by reducing participants

The ICC have previously stated they would cut the number of competing teams from 14 to 10 for the 2015 tournament in Australia and New Zealand.

The format of the World Cup has been criticised for being too long, with India’s success in the final on Saturday arriving six weeks after they opened the tournament against Bangladesh.

A reduction in the number of competing teams is likely to see the number of Associate members reduced after teams such as Canada and Kenya were on the wrong end of some heavy defeats.

“The length of 50 overs will find certain teams out but I think there are 10 teams that can seriously compete in that format,” Lorgat said.

“That’s a debate we are still finalising; in fact the board meeting over the next two days will consider that and will determine which teams will play in the 2015 World Cup.”

The ICC currently has 10 full member nations with Zimbabwe the only of those who is not a Test-playing country.

There may, however, be scope for at least one of the Associate nations to play in the tournament with the ICC still yet to reveal how qualification would take place.

India’s captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni had joined with Gautam Gambhir to pull off an impressive run chase to beat Sri Lanka by six wickets in Saturday’s final in Mumbai.

The fourth-wicket pair ensured India did not panic in front of a capacity home crowd after the early loss of Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar in pursuit of 274-6.

The favourites prevailed with 10 balls to spare despite a wonderful 103 not out from Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene.

There was no major impact for Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan on his last appearance for his country, or a 100th international hundred for India’s Sachin Tendulkar in his home town.

Instead, with 97 for Gambhir and Jayawardene’s third World Cup century, three other world-class performers took centre stage in a contest just shaded by India.

It was Dhoni (91no) who completed the job, after promoting himself to No 5 and producing his first half-century of the campaign in a telling stand of 106 with Gambhir and then an unbroken 54 with Yuvraj Singh.

He did it with crowd-delighting gusto too, smashing a six high over long-on off Nuwan Kulasekera for the winning runs.