Delhi: Team India’s former veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin believes that the excessive burden on the international cricket calendar is becoming a major reason for the decline of the ODI format. He appealed to the ICC to seriously reconsider the number of tournaments and the strategy of organizing them.

ODI cricket was once great

Ashwin reminded that once upon a time, 50 over cricket was a very balanced and exciting format. This format gave players like Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who used to lead the innings intelligently and bat aggressively in the last overs, but due to the current rules, two new balls and fielding restrictions, there is no need for such batting anymore.

Question on ICC calendar

Ashwin said that the continuous ICC tournaments and bilateral series are taking cricket in a tiring direction. Giving the example of FIFA, he said that the World Cup is held there once in four years, due to which its importance remains. On the contrary, almost every year some big tournament is taking place in cricket, which is reducing the enthusiasm of the spectators.

Not every match attracts spectators

He also said that matches like India vs America or India vs Namibia in the T20 World Cup can also take the spectators away from cricket. According to Ashwin, too many formats, too many matches and too many World Cups are making the game heavier than it needs to be.

Only way to save ODI

Ashwin clearly believes that if ODI cricket is to be saved then only one ODI World Cup should be organized in four years. This will give special identity and importance to this format. He said that people will come to watch ODI cricket with full enthusiasm only when it is made special. According to him, in the current situation, ODI cricket is gradually moving towards its end.