For One Day cricket to survive, I think it should be reduced to forty over game in future: Ravi Shastri

On the fourth day of the final Test of the 2022-23 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Ahmedabad, the future of the game was discussed with the former India head coach. Discussing the sport, the talk shifted to the present scenario of the One-Day format. Talking about the fate of the longest form of white-ball cricket in the third session of the fourth day, commentator Shastri gave a suggestion on air to save it from getting perished.

Ravi Shastri, who represented India in 150 ODIs from 1981-1992, has said that the overs in ODI cricket should be reduced to fourty overs each side for its survival in the upcoming years.

“For One Day cricket to survive, I think it should be reduced to forty over game in future and the reason I say this is because when we won the World cup in 1983, it was a 60 over game. Then the attention span of the people diminished and it became a fifty over game. I think the time has come for it to become now a 40-over game. Evolve with the times. Reduce the format,” Shastri said.

The former India coach also expressed his opinion on T20 cricket and domestic leagues. He said the T20 format is important for the development of the sport due to its ability to extract high revenue. Shastri added that the bilateral T20 contests should be played on a few occasions as a lot of leagues are there in the arena to promote the T20 game.

T20 format is the cash cow for the sport: Shastri

“T20 format I think is the key,” he said. “It is the injection the game needs to evolve. It’s the cash cow for the sport. But I think there also the bilaterals should be reduced. There are enough domestic leagues around the world that promote the T20 game. We should let those leagues happen and then have a World Cup, just in between. Very few bilaterals, if needed before a World Cup or something of that sort. Then you can sustain all three formats.”

On Test cricket, Shastri said “Test cricket will remain Test cricket and it should be given paramount importance. It’s the real thing. I think there’s a place for all formats within India. Especially in the subcontinent. Especially in places like Australia.”

After the conclusion of the fourth Test, India and Australia will move towards the three-match ODI series that will be played from March 17 to 22.

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