Former India boss Ravi Shastri is in agreement with ex-Pakistan international Shahid Afridi, who recently suggested that ODI cricket should be reduced from 50 to 40 overs per side.
With the increasing popularity of the T20 format and Test cricket maintaining its charm, the ODI version has somewhat taken a hit, with questions being raised over its future. Ben Stokes’ surprise retirement call from ODIs recently has added to the concerns, with the England Test captain stating that it had become “unsustainable” for him to play across all three formats.
Ex-Pakistan captain and fast-bowling great Wasim Akram even suggested for ODIs to be scrapped completely, while his former teammate Shahid Afridi asked for it to be reduced to 40 overs.
“One-day cricket has become quite boring now. I would suggest cutting ODI cricket from 50 overs to 40 overs in order to make it entertaining,”
Afridi had told Samaa TV following Stokes’ retirement.
Meanwhile, Shastri agreed with the idea, stating that the ODI format has stayed at 50 overs a side for far too long.
“There is no harm in shortening the span of the game,”
Shastri said during the second ODI between India and West Indies on Fancode.
“When one-day cricket started, it was 60 overs. When we won the World Cup in 1983, it was of 60 overs. After that, people thought that 60 overs were a bit too long. So they reduced it from 60 to 50.
So years have gone by now since that decision so why not reduce it from 50 to 40 now. Because you got to be forward-thinking and evolve. It stayed at 50 for too long.”
In a recent conversation with Sky Sports, Shastri had also asked for the number of Test teams to be reduced to six to maintain its quality.
