Cricket News

‘I turn it off when it’s on TV’- Ravichandran Ashwin shares his views on ODI cricket

India legend, Ravi Ashwin believes the one-day format is at the cusp of loosing its relevance and he further goes on to say he turns off the TV when a 50-over game is being telecasted.  Even though England are playing currently in a three match ODI series against India , the cynosure of all eyes for the white-ball game at the moment is on 20-20 World Cup, which is slated to take  place in October.

Test cricket, on the other hand, is enjoying a resurgence and has got a much needed breathing space because of the World Test Championship and also due to England’s exhilarating run-chases under new head coach Brendon McCullum. Indian spinner, Ravichandran Ashwin, meanwhile, has revealed his fears over the future of the 50-over game.

“The greatest beauty of one-day cricket is – sorry, was – the ebbs and flows of the game,” Ashwin, who played 113 ODIs for India and is part of the current Test set-up, told the Vaughany and Tuffers Cricket Club podcast. People used to bide their time and take the game deep.”

The veteran off spinner believes that One-Day Cricket is loosing relevance and stature because it is not offering equality between bat and ball and that the bowlers have largely gone out of the One-day game.

“The one-day format used to be a format where bowlers had a say. Even me, as a cricket badger and a cricket nut, I switch off the TV after a point and that’s frankly very scary for the format of the game. When those ebbs and flows go missing, it’s not cricket anymore. It’s just an extended form of T20,” said Ashwin.

“It’s a question of relevance and I think ODI cricket needs to find its relevance. It needs to find its spot.”

He feels that ODI cricket needs to get back on its feet again and rise to become the format it once was. The 35-year-old off-spinner believes returning to one ball per innings throughout an innings would make the contest more exciting. The off spinner’s views came at a time when the interest towards ODI cricket seems to have dwindled.

“I think one ball is something that would work and spinners would come into the game to bowl more at the back end. Reverse swing might come back in, which is crucial for the game.

“I would also say we need to go back to the ball we used around 2010 – I don’t think we use the same ones anymore! As I grew up, I watched the one-day sport and, although Glenn McGrath was an amazing bowler, the ball is definitely not doing as much as it used to!”