Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has shared some serious concerns over the future of One Day International cricket, stating the format may struggle to survive after the 2027 ODI World Cup. Ashwin feels ODIs are slowly losing their relevance due to the rapid growth of T20 leagues around the world.
Speaking on his YouTube channel Ash Ki Baat, Ashwin admitted he is no longer confident about where ODI cricket stands in the modern cricket. “I am not sure about the future of ODI [cricket] after the 2027 World Cup. I am a little worried about it. Of course, I am following Vijay Hazare Trophy but the manner in which I followed SMAT, I am finding slightly difficult to follow,” Ashwin said, adding, “Also, we need to know what audience wants to watch. I feel Test cricket still has space but ODI cricket, I truly feel (it) doesn’t have the space.”
Ashwin also recalled that ODI was once a amazing format who gave them Players like MS Dhoni, “One-day cricket, once upon a time, was an amazing format because it gave a player like MS Dhoni who (would) take singles for 10-15 overs before he went berserk at the end.”
He also requested the ICC not to schedule the tournament just for the sake of revenue generation. “The ODI format has become redundant, and to top it, the ICC needs to see how they are conducting these World Cups. Every year, there is an ICC tournament for revenue generation, but then look at how FIFA is doing it…they do their World Cup once every four years…too many World Cups, so it’s little bit of an overkill.”
Ashwin further suggested, “If you really want to make ODI cricket relevant, then just play these (T20) leagues and play the ODI World Cup once in four years, so when people turn up for events, there will be a sense of expectation. I feel it is going towards slow death.”
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