'One-day cricket is kind of dying' - Wasim Akram calls to do away with ODIs
With the arrival of T20Is, the charm of ODI cricket has taken a gentle hit. Meanwhile, Wasim Akram feels that the 50-over format is not sustainable anymore and should be scrapped.
FollowAs far as cricket is concerned, Test cricket is still considered the ultimate form of the game. Meanwhile, the arrival of the Twenty20 (T20) format has made the game much more fast-paced and entertaining, which kind of makes the one-dayers more interesting, albeit the T20s are limited to 20 overs per side. Thus, this makes one wonder if the 50-over ODIs are worth it, especially since the T20s dominate the one-day games nowadays. However, legendary former Pakistani all-rounder Wasim Akram is not in favour of the ODIs anymore and feels that the format is dying, as he believes that the format should be done away with.
Akram's comments come in the wake of English all-rounder Ben Stokes retiring from the ODIs, citing it unsustainable to play all three formats. Speaking on if the ODIs should be scrapped, Akram told the Vaughany and Tuffers Cricket Club podcast, "I think so [ODIs should be discarded]. In England, you have full houses. In India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and South Africa, one-day cricket, you will not fill the stadiums."
"They are doing it just for the sake of doing it. After the first ten 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 ten overs. Another 100. It's run-of-the-mill," added Akram.
Akram came out to support Stokes' decision to quit the ODIs, stating, "Him [Stokes] 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."
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Akram reckons that the 50-over game hardly has any future, considering the ever-growing T20 format. "T20 is easier. After 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 modern cricket. T20 or Test cricket. One-day cricket is dying."
"It is quite tiring for a player to play one-day cricket. After T20, one-day cricket seems it is going on for days. So, players are focussing on the shorter format. And, longer format obviously [is] Test cricket," he said. Akram also thinks that Tests would remain the pinnacle of the game for any player.
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"There's a battle within the battle in Test cricket. I always preferred Test matches. One-day [cricket] was fun, but Test matches were where you were recognised as a player, and 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 game's greats." Akram imagines that the game's administrators should consider completely overhauling the international calendar.
