Wasim Akram backed Ben Stokes' decision to retire from ODIs.
Stokes, who was part of England’s 2019 World Cup-winning team, confirmed his decision through a social media post, citing that he was not being able to give his 100 percent to the team in ODIs and playing all three formats amid a busy schedule is "unsustainable" for him.
Following Stokes’ decision, the debate over the future of the 50-over format has once again come to the fore.
Former Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram too has expressed his concerns and backed Stokes' decision to retire from ODIs.
“Him deciding that he is retiring from one-day cricket is quite sad but I agree with him. Even as a commentator one-day cricket is just a drag now, especially after T20. I can imagine as a player. 50 overs, 50 overs, then you have to pre-game, post-game, the lunch game.
"T20 is kind of easier, four hours the game is over. The leagues all around the world, there is a lot more money - I suppose this is part and parcel of the modern cricket. T20 or Test cricket. One-day cricket is kind of dying.
“It is quite tiring for a player to play one-day cricket. After T20, one-day cricket seems it is going for days. So players are focussing on more shorter format. And longer format obviously [with] Test cricket,” Akram said while speaking on The Telegraph's Vaughany and Tuffers Cricket Club podcast.
The legendary fast bowler also called for the need to look into the format as filling the stadiums during a one-day game is going to be a challenge.
“I think so. In England you have full houses. In India, Pakistan especially, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, South Africa, one-day cricket you are not going to fill the stadiums."
“They are doing it just for the sake of doing it. After the first 10 overs, it’s just ‘OK, just go a run a ball, get a boundary, four fielders in and you get to 200, 220 in 40 overs’ and then have a go last 10 overs. Another 100. It’s kind of run-of-the-mill,” Wasim remarked.
When asked to pick his favourite format, Akram replied: “There’s a battle within the battle in Test cricket. I always preferred Test matches. One-day used to be fun but Test matches were where you were recognised as a player where people still pick you for the world XIs. OK money matters - I understand where they are coming from - but they should also remember if they want to be recognised as one of the greats of the game.”