We have heard these dire warnings about different forms of cricket before; now it is the turn of Twenty20 and the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Season four of the IPL has recorded the lowest television ratings in the history of the tournament and some observers have used these statistics to paint a picture of disillusionment with the self-styled entertainment extravaganza.
Coming right after the World Cup, the IPL was bound to struggle to keep fans interested, and television producers have made it worse with over-the-top gimmicks. Having a live band and cheerleaders in the studio will probably go down as one of the worst ideas to promote a cricket event.
About 146.4 million viewers have watched the first 37 games this season, which exceeds the total viewership (143.7m) for 60 matches last year. Yet, the television viewer rating points - which track how long people are watching - have slipped from 5.44 last year to 4.07 this season.
The IPL continues to attract new fans, but they are watching for shorter periods. Cricket enthusiasts prefer the stadium to their living rooms, avoiding the ennui of meaningless "celebrity interviews".
They would rather watch Lasith Malinga's lethal yorkers and celebrate Sachin Tendulkar's undiminishing gifts in person.
That brings us to probably the biggest reason for the slide in IPL's popularity - the absence of icon players. Mumbai and Delhi have Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, but the others, barring Chennai, lack stars of local appeal. Disbanding teams was not a great idea.
