A lot of speculation has been going around after the retirement of Ben Stokes from ODI. Ben Stokes stated “cricketers are not like cars and there is too much cricket crammed in”. He also described playing three formats as “unsustainable” for him.
And Now Australian test opener Usman Khawaja is the latest to join the argument over the existence of ODI cricket.
Usman Khawaja believes that ODI cricket is dying slowly as a result of the growth of T20 leagues throughout the world and a rigorous international schedule. “Something needs to give because you can’t have all three formats playing all the games at the same time; you’ll have to choose and choose.” He added.
Test cricket will always remain the pinnacle and T20 cricket being the shortest form of cricket, fan loves it as it’s the best format for entertainment and has leauge across the world and also the best one for commercial purpose as well, ODI being the 3rd ranked format and players will prefer to give on this. He further added.
Is ODI cricket really dying?
The biggest cause for the collapse is that people do not have the time (7-8 hours) to sit and watch ODI. People are less interested in ODI because of the IPL and T20, except for the world cup or final matches.
Test matches are test matches, and they will be played regardless of the circumstances. Even when compared to test matches 20 years ago, they are today more result-oriented and exciting; no side wants to play for a draw like in the past. T20 is a more complete package than other forms of cricket.
* Unlike ODIs, T20 internationals bring in money for broadcasters.
* People have got agitated, and patience is only found in dictionaries.
* The middle overs from 15 to 40 are extremely sluggish and highly strategic. People need entertainment that is given in a shorter format.
* In today’s hectic environment, ODIs are a waste of time as compared to T20s.
Conclusion
Many former cricketers and cricket pundits believe ODI bilateral needs to be cut. And it’s also very hard for the players to play all three formats. Everyone dreams to play test cricket and T20 cricket is played for entertainment and leagues across the world give the players money.
T20 cricket also gives high revenue to the broadcaster and can easily get sponsors as compared to ODI. And also people are quite busy in these modern days, who hardly can afford 7-8 hrs of time.
Also, it’s meaningless to Play ODI bilateral when the T20 World cup is around the corner, the teams are focusing on the world cup and they are trying to manage the workload of their star player by allowing them to skip ODI. If a star player misses the game, there is a huge decline in the viewership and revenue to all that is associated with it.
So, for now, it’s good enough to say it’s fine to cut the unnecessary bilateral ODI series. Let the ODI world cup comes and the team’s focus will automatically go towards it.
The opinions presented here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily relfect the opinions of LetzCricket.