Test cricket has primarily recovered with more goal-oriented matches owing to the World Test Championship. T20 provides both money and entertainment with its leagues. But where are we with the ODI right now? Is it dreary? If so, is it too long to be enjoyable? Or is it simply too brief and less wise than Tests to be as genuinely fascinating? Cricket’s 50-over format is currently in disarray after moving through the stage of marginalization. Moeen Ali, R Ashwin, and Ben Stokes’ recent comments and decision to leave the format show that the players are disengaged. The fast-paced nature of international T20 franchise events has overwhelmed the format.
Currently, a lot of cricket is being played worldwide, not including fantasy cricket in this section! Several international competitions are ongoing at once. There is no question that more professional cricket is being played today than ever before. Although this is excellent for cricket boards, it’s not so wonderful for the players. The demands of playing all three forms of international cricket are too great. It strains the player’s physical and mental resources. Players still have to live in bio-bubbles, which causes mental exhaustion. Viewership of Test cricket has increased from previous seasons.
Despite having significant ODI World Cup Super League points on the line, South Africa recently canceled an ODI series against Australia that was set to take place in January of next year to focus on their T20 league. The issue is puzzling and may get out of hand. Even after a successful ODI World Cup in 2019, where the live broadcast had an average worldwide audience of 1.6 billion people, why is there still talk of ODI cricket dying? Cricket in a single day has to be improved. Since T20Is cannot equal the number of commercials an ODI match delivers, it should continue because broadcasters rely on it financially.
Crowds at many of Australia’s matches during the T20 World Cup were smaller than anticipated. Within 10 to 15 years, according to 33% of the more than 1000 respondents, ODIs will be a distant memory. They cited the lack of significance and schedule saturation as the causes. Unexpectedly, only 6.7% of respondents felt Test cricket should be dropped to clear the schedule, implying that ODIs would shoulder the blame for T20 cricket’s continuous ascent. They did, however, state that for one-day cricket to survive, international T20s must be kept to a minimum and that matches must be spiced up with seaming or spinning pitches and a return to the use of a single new ball.
However, they did state that for one-day cricket to survive, the number of international T20s needed to be restricted and that matches must be spiced up with seaming or spinning pitches and a return to one new ball. Because the matches were held just days after the English won the T20 World Cup and days before the Australians began their summer Test series against the West Indies, the timing of the ODI series between the two traditional rivals Australia and England was called into doubt.
There used to be a buzz, with articles receiving tremendous readership and tickets quickly selling out. But right now, this format is becoming obsolete. The English all-rounder Ben Stokes’ decision to stop playing in ODI matches is the best sign of this. It has brought the necessity for improvements in ODI cricket into sharp focus. Usman Khawaja, a left-handed batter for Australia, thinks that playing in all three forms is ‘unsustainable’ and extremely taxing on a player.
