David Richardson, the chief executive of the International Cricket Council (ICC), has come up with the diplomatic response of Colin Graves’, the England and Wales Cricket Board chairman, controversial comment "young people are just not attracted to cricket", saying it is “an English viewpoint”.

Many believe that youngsters are not taking too much interest in the game of cricket as compared to Football and Rugby, especially England's top cricket administrator, but Richardson doesn’t feel the same, saying upcoming 2019 World Cup will prove all doubters wrong.

On being asked about Graves's comments, Richardson said as per AFP, “That is very much an English viewpoint. Globally we are seeing in our sport, compared to other sports, the average age of the fan is lower than even football and certainly rugby. Market by market, it varies widely -- in England, I think, there is a bit of a challenge making sure we re-engage with the youth and grow the game from a participation point of view -- but elsewhere in the world, it is quite positive.”

On ICC’s strategy to grow the game worldwide, ICC chief executive stated, “Our strategy is clear in that we've got three formats of the same game, which is challenging in itself to keep them from cannibalizing each other. But what it does do is provide us an opportunity to provide an offering to everybody, every type of cricket fan, from the traditional old Test cricket fan to a youngster who wants something to be happening every ball. And the 50-over version, I think, is that perfect fit between Test and T20.”

Former South African cricketer signed off by saying, “It provides a perfect day's entertainment, we've seen that around the world - it is very popular elsewhere in the world -- and the World Cup has got that prestige which I think will help cement 50-over cricket's popularity well into the future. But certainly there isn't an appetite to increase and create another format.”