"I switch off the TV after a point" - R Ashwin addresses the worrying monotonous pattern of ODI cricket
Team India bowler Ravichandran Ashwin has expressed concern with the direction that the ODI format has taken in the recent past.
The emergence of T20 cricket and the franchise-based model that comes with it have made the 50-over format irrelevant of late.
There has been a drastic decrease in competitive ODIs over the last couple of years. While slight changes have been made to the powerplay structure, the format arguably needs plenty of tweaking for it to be revived.
Do something for ODI cricket, it is the format which is dying. Tests are well and truly here, save ODIs twitter.com/KP24/status/14…
Having represented India in 113 ODI matches, R Ashwin acknowledged the drastic decrease in the quality of 50-over matches. The 35-year-old said on the Vaughany and Tuffers Cricket Club podcast:
"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."
Ashwin added:
"It's a question of relevance and I think ODI cricket needs to find its relevance. It needs to find its spot."
The ICC tried to enhance the relevance of the format with the introduction of the ODI World Cup Super League.
However, the format of the tournament makes it far from enticing, leaving only multi-nation tournaments like the World Cup and the Champions Trophy as havens for the ODI format.
Stressing that the roller-coaster experience that came during the peak of ODI cricket was its selling point, Ashwin added:
"The greatest beauty of one-day cricket is - sorry, was - the ebbs and flows of the game. People used to bide their time and take the game deep. The one-day format used to be a format where bowlers had a say."
The Eoin Morgan-led England team's brand of aggressive cricket has left an impression on several sides. Going hard from the word go takes the bowlers, who are already at a disadvantage with small boundaries and massive bats, out of the game.
"I think one ball is something that would work" - R Ashwin on how to revive ODI cricket
The concept of using two new balls from each end was introduced in ODI cricket in 2011. While it has protected the white ball from wear and tear, the ploy has effectively ruled out more turn for spinners and reverse swing for pacers.
ODI as a format is slowly dying. There is hardly any buzz or excitement around an ODI series now. Most people look forward to either watching a Test or T20I series.
Also, most people are not watching the entire 100 Overs because I feel 7 out of 10 matches are one-sided. twitter.com/WisdenCricket/…
Claiming that cricket balls these days hardly show any movement, Ashwin said:
"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."
He concluded:
"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!"
The decline in ODI cricket is manifest in the surprise Jasprit Bumrah expressed after seeing the white ball swinging in his record spell of 6-19 at The Oval against England on Tuesday (July 12).
Furthermore, England recording close to 500 runs in an innings (against the Netherlands) and South Africa conceding an entire ODI series for the sake of their new T20 franchise league show the current state of the format.