India off-spinner R Ashwin said that he fears for the future of the one-day international format, saying that they are now becoming an extended form of T20s. He also suggested a solution to bring parity between the bat and the ball in the ODI format to keep it from dying.
ODI is more or less becoming a batter’s game as England recently hit the highest ODI team total of 498, barely missing the 500-run mark against the Netherlands. However, then you have the recent most ODI in which Indian bowlers routed the England team for 110 runs in which four home side batters made ducks.
Still, bowlers effectively have been reduced to biological bowling machines and it’s a trend that casts a dark shadow over the future of 50 overs cricket. India bowling star R Ashwin thinks ODI cricket has lost its beauty over the years and he ends up switching off the TV after one point whenever a 50-over game is on.
“The greatest beauty of one-day cricket is - sorry, was - the ebbs and flows of the game. People used to bide their time and take the game deep. The one-day format used to be a format where bowlers had a say. Even me, as a cricket badger and a cricket nut, I switch off the TV after a point and that’s frankly very scary for the format of the game. When those ebbs and flows go missing, it’s not cricket anymore. It’s just an extended form of T20,” Ashwin told the Vaughany and Tuffers Cricket Club podcast.
“It’s a question of relevance and I think ODI cricket needs to find its relevance. It needs to find its spot," he added.
He pointed out that the use of two new balls, one from each end has been a death knell for the bowlers as it has taken reverse swing out of the equation. Ashwin also said that playing with one ball for the entire 50 overs, gave the spinners something to work with.
“I think one ball is something that would work and spinners would come into the game to bowl more at the back end. Reverse swing might come back in, which is crucial for the game. I would also say we need to go back to the ball we used around 2010 - I don’t think we use the same ones anymore! As I grew up, I watched the one-day sport and, although Glenn McGrath was an amazing bowler, the ball is definitely not doing as much as it used to!" Ashwin said.
(News18 inputs)
